The Aviator's Island
by JohnnyFrost
Summary: The Ghosts of Razgriz return to the island where they met their fate. They return to fly once again not for war, but for freedom.
1. Introduction

_**The Aviator's Island**_

_It was ironic really. We were always so close. I loved her. I think I was always in love with her, an angel who's name rolls like silver off the tongue. Kei Nagase. But that wasn't the real issue. We spend the war tearing apart a country in war that I could not understand really. It wasn't the soldier's fault really. Instead we're tools of government. The irony was that through all of this, strong bonds were formed. The irony was that when the war ended, Kei and I get married and where do we go...Yuktobania. But it was actually a pleasant visit. That was because we were incognito. But on the flight home, we ended up flying over some islands. So I look down...and there it was. Arcadia. That island that sealed our fate to the world. It is ironic since my grandparents once lived there. So finally I make a mention of it as Kei's holding my hand and leaning on my shoulder. So I tell her, and she says, 'Really? ' I tell her it was where I learned how to fly. The island itself was populated, albeit scarcely though. Mining was a big thing there. My grandparents owned this old Messerschmitt ME-109, which I think is one of the best old planes ever. I loved it despite it's problems. So then I tell her it might be a good place for us to settle down and disappear. And she just smiles and says, "I'm listening..." _

_-A diary entry written on May 17, 2011._

_**Introduction**_

No one really lived on the island. There was maybe a small town here and there, but there was never really more than 4,000 people there. Mallora Island it was called, and it had its own legend. It was created from the fires of the world, and tamed by the sign of time. It also played a significant role in the fates of the "Four Wings of Sand Island". The only thing of significance was the large amount of scrapped planes on the island on the southwestern tip of the island. The island was remote, and most people would simply fly to the mainland. Mining and other industry was located on the eastern side of the island. But many regard it a flyer's paradise. But over the years, the flying decreased. This was mainly due to the enemy of time. A family of five owned the scrap yard and was paid by the government to store discarded planes from over the last 60-70 years. But as the family got older and their children moved away, only an old couple remained. Finally one day, they decided to relinquish the place and it was left abandoned for several years. They moved to a small house about a half-mile away on a hill. And so the place stood dormant.

That would change in June of 2011. The old couple saw a pair of government helicopters pass over their house. They landed at the airfield and several people got out. The one that was most striking was a young couple that was first to emerge; neither looked over 25. They took a tentative look around the place, and began to pantomime to two others; one was a man in his mid-thirties, the other couldn't have been older than 21. The first young man was just under six feet tall, with an unblemished tan skin and glassy blue eyes. His hair was a short, thready black. The young woman was about only five and a half feet tall, with a clear and white skin with deep, brown eyes; her hair was a long, silky brown. They were taking over the place. Eventually, others came. There was a couple in their mid-forties with two girls in tow; one looked about seventeen and the other that looked about ten. Then there was a rather amorous couple in their mid-forties; one was a tall, brown haired man that was the living definition of belligerence. The obviously foreign woman was a long, silky haired woman with a pair of pilot's sunglasses.

The old couple then paid it no attention at first. But slowly, they noticed something different about they place their new neighbors had inherited. They were finding old planes, and slowly fixing them up. They were cleaning up the place. The young newlywed man was painting an old, but well maintained Messerschmitt ME-109 in a black and fiery paint scheme. His young lover was painting a F4U Corsair that was next to the ME-109 a bright, gaudy purple and white. Occasionally, they'd go over and talk and laugh and do all things young couples do. Who were they? What inspired this? What were trying to do? These question flashed through the old couples minds. So they decided to pay their new neighbors an overdue visit...

_Meanwhile somewhere on Mallora Island..._

It was his day off, his first in months. He worked at a small storage company as the pilot for the supply planes, and was finally looking forward to some much needed rest. But everyone was gone. His wife was at work, the kids were at school. It kind of wished everyone had the day off. This was a far cry from who he once was. He was Claude Picarro, who the Yukes called the "Bleeding Rose", a testament to his flamboyance and ruthlessness in combat.

A year ago, he had been a tour de force pilot in the Yuke Air Force. He'd been combat flying for 15 years, 14 of them with the Yukes. And he wasn't even Yuktobanian. He was a Sapinian Air Force pilot during the Belkan War; he'd shot down 7 planes at the age of 20. He was the youngest ace in history before last year. He was recruited by Yuktobania and trained to fly the Mig-29. He flew against the air forces of Verusa and Erusea in 3 wars and his kill count climbed to 26. He attended college and learned business; he was genius to many. A mechanical failure forced him down after he shot down a vaunted enemy ace in 1999. He encountered the person, a woman named Marimeydia Sophie Kushrenada. A person, who he actually took a liking too, who was about a year his junior and was striking beautiful. She had a grace unlike her fellow pilots. Much to the chagrin of his comrades, he actually courted the woman...and married her a year later. A number of Versuan pilots also defected from the facist state, and the couple were assigned to train them. They led them into combat in 2002 and 2008.

But Marimeydia was injured in a bizarre friendly fire incident, and lost her left eye; she could no longer fly. Ironically, in 2010, another friendly fire incident that nearly took Claude's right eye and some of his right ear. He too, was forced to retire when he could no longer fly effectively because of the injuries. But an old friend got him a job back in Osea that appealed to his excellent flying skills. And the rest was history.

There was nothing on TV, which didn't bother Claude. He hated TV. While the island itself was a serene place, there wasn't much to do. He would mainly just indulge in his favorite activity, flying. When he left Yuktobania, his comrades showed their appreciation for his long service(most served 7-8 years), by giving him and his wife two restored Yak-9s. Although it was pain to ship over, he finally got the opportunity to fly it several months ago.

"Ah, what the hell." he said.

He grabbed his old flight jacket, his other gear, and went out to rule the sky again. He passed by a wall. It was a wall of personal significance. It was a wall of newspaper articles. It was a wall dedicated to "Four Wings of Sand Island" and all the pilot legends of his time. In his plane was a recent picture of his family. Claude was a short guy, 5'4'', with brown hair, blue eyes, and a pasty skin. He was the last person one ever expect to fly a plane. Marimeydia was more up to it. She was six feet tall with green eyes, silk-like blonde hair, and an unblemished skin. There were his two kids, Lina and Van in the photo as well. There was also another picture of his days amongst the Yukes. In it was him, a few former squadron members, one last person. A person he only met once during that meeting. A lady simply named Nastasha. She always wore a set of gaudy sunglasses...


	2. Dreams

Chapter 1: Dreams

June 8, 2011  
Somewhere in Northeastern Osea

A storm raged outside with all that came with it. There was no wind, just the constant pinging of the rain. It had been a miserable few days. Most would dare not venture outside. But for Charlie, it was really his only other entertainment. He wondered if people would still be jogging out there. Of course, one had to pick one's poison; there was no power. It was just another day trying to adjust to regular life, yet it seemed more difficult with everyday. Just a few months ago, he'd been on of the air force's finest pilots. But an unpopular war, political machinations, world destruction weapons ruined all that. He was glad it was all over, but a part of him missed it all. But at least one thing stayed constant.

Charlie suddenly felt a brush of heat and the shining glow. It didn't bother him. He knew what it was, who it was, and what it represented. It was like being back at Sand Island, with a person who still remained by his side, and what he used to be called...Blaze. But he hadn't been called this nickname in months. Even Charlie wasn't his real name, but David. Charlie was the name of a dog he had as a child. It seemed the perfect name for an alias. Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"So, how do you like it?" the voice said.

David turned, and saw the bright glow. His eyes bulged in surprise; his expression saying, _Who are you and what have done with my Kei?_ But, he knew it was her.

"Wow. That does look nice. But maybe you should wait until we get some actual light before you dye your hair." he said.

Kei laughed. It was just another level of disguise.

"I miss those red tipped highlights though." David said.

David had the fresh memory of the first days they'd spent as a married couple. The most vivid one being the fiery red color she put in her hair, which David considered to be the most important aesthetic quality of a woman. It was paired with the same inner passion as he had, and thus created a perfect couple, in his view.

"I told you, those are for special occasions. Besides, I'm beginning to like this...casual look."

"You've always had a casual look. But, anyway...What is this, monsoon season?"

"Yeah, it's been nasty out there. It just rains too much here." said David.

There was a slight pause between the two.  
"So...you really want to do this? Move out with me to some island out in the middle of nowhere?" he asked.

"It looked like a nice place really...for a volcanic island." Kei said.

"So we tell the guys up in Oured, 'Hey, we're moving here.' and they make it happen. What more you could ask for? It's the least they could do for crazies like us." said David, "Of course, I wish I still had my grandpa's plane. Then we could fly there ourselves." he said.

"If only."

"You know...I wonder who owns that place now, if anyone does. It looked deserted. I wonder if any of those planes can still fly. That would be something, wouldn't it?"

"Wait a minute...are you suggesting what I think-"

"Yes. I'm saying it. I say we find one of those old planes, fix it up and fly it!" he said.

There was a slight pause from Kei.

"What? You don't to do that?"

"No...it's not that. I want to do that too."

"Really? Well, I'll go ahead and go. What are we waiting for? The weather there's nice all year around. Let's get the hell out of Dodge." said David.

"You want to try to fly in this weather?" said Kei.

"I've done it before but...I see your point. So we'll wait."

David had found adjusting to married life easier than adjusting to a normal civilian life in general. He wanted to fly again. He was hellbent on it; he dreamed about it every night. Every day was a more anxious one. He was determined to keep that part of his life, even if it meant living a regular life.

"Wait a minute. What if we can get the others in on this?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, let's call Grimm, Snow, everybody. We all 'disappear' to this place. Think about it. We'd get to sit there and do all the things we love to do, fly and be around planes. My parents would love it...I might give them a call too."

Kei laughed again. "You were always a bigger dreamer than even me."  
"Dreamer? Nah. I'm just a guy with too much time on his hands in the worst weather possible." he said.

June 11, 2011

Mallora Island

There was a black surf along the beach that was touched by gentle bubbling water. Near it was a small plane, a Cessna pontoon plane. David and Kei stepped out of the plane on a dock they'd tied the plane to. Although his grandfather had left the old Messerschmitt on the island, he let him have his old, but maintained Cessna. He was getting too old to fly in his mind. The air was a sticky, sweet smell of untouched nature.

"We really need to build a house here." said Kei.

"Build a house? I can't build a spice rack, much less a house! I can fix stuff, but I'm not a carpenter."said David in surprise.

"You're right, I can't build anything either. But this view...our kids will be talking about it for years. They'll say, _I used to live on this island with a beautiful beach we'd see every day.. _And so on and so on."said Kei.

_Kids. Most guys would be thinking**-**Kids? Are you crazy!_

David wasn't afraid of this talk. It was something they had agreed on months ago. It wasn't even an issue. What was an issue was something else...and it had almost nothing to do with Kei.

Later...

They were lucky. Everything just fell into place. They had found a house near the beach, but it was in a clearing. A very familiar clearing; it was one they had passed over on the way to their...deaths. It was dusty, but salvageable.

"These cobwebs have got to go." said David.

"Look at you, Blaze. You're a fighter ace turned interior decorator." said Kei while laughing.

David did not respond until he began another, more serious dialogue, "When I was a kid, I looked at a spider spin its web for like 3 hours. It slowly took shape. I used to hate them. But...he was just trying to stay alive. I found that out when it just attacked this fly and just spun it up in its web. I was like, 'Yes! Kill it!' I was rooting for the spider. Then...the night before the wedding. I had that same dream again..." said David.

"St. Hewlett...again? I had no idea it was still..." said Kei worriedly.

"Yes. It came back, then a saw a spider web and I just started crying. I was so happy when that guy went down...then sick when it hit those guys in the water. It was like back with spider when I was a kid. What was that fly going through? I know it sounds silly and trivial but...It made me think of back then. How cruel, I could be sometimes. Maybe it's my punishment. Punishment for those few times I wish ill on others."

"Like who?"

"There was an old girlfriend I had when I was 18. Six months before I enrolled in the academy, I was going to go to same college as her. I'm serious, she was the first girl I ever loved. That is until two days after I realized that...well, let's just say she stabbed me in the back...with two knives."

"What do you mean by...Oh, I get it." said Kei holding back a twisted facial expression.

"Yeah. I was so angry at her. It's like...I did everything right, I didn't even so much as look in the eyes of another woman for a year. But she was caught up in her own independence and didn't want to be tied down a high school sweetheart. I just wanted some supernatural power to strike her dead. And sure enough, two weeks later...Bam! She's gone. Well, that's a bad example. She was drunk and going 100 mph but...I was sad. I felt responsible, it was just I've been having this same dream over and over. And it...won't...go...away. I could go an apologize to every family, but it won't do a thing. It was...it was the fact there was no ambiguity with it. I did it. That was me, I should have been more careful. I was reckless." said David sadly.

"Maybe you just need to let go. Those people. They don't hate you. What about their families? How many did you _save _because of everything else you did. How many more people don't have to deal with all the schemes of madmen because of you? It's a semi-pragmatic way of looking at it. I guess there's no way around it." said Kei in her usual serious, compassionate tone.

There was a long pause. Finally, David spoke up. "You're right. You never were more right. Why am I...I've spent too much time on a guilt trip. I've tried to hard to put it away. I have to deal with it..." he said.

David shook his head. "I want to...I want to fly again. That's what I want. All that...it was getting in the way. I mean, we flew here...but I want to do it again...and again...and again. I want...to teach my kids how to fly. I want them to know what the difference between a Cobra and an Immelmann turn. I want, what all those guys wanted...just to be. Just to be right here, right now and not have to worry about getting shot at. I want...you." he said while pulling Kei close to him.

Kei gasped in surprise as she soon began to laugh. She then moved her head even closer to his, her nose touching his and her lips brushing his as well. All the bad memories passed away; in his mind, the reason was simple...he was trying too hard. He could not forget what had happened as a result of doing what he loved, but the person _who_ he loved made him see the truth. Their lips locked quietly, no sudden moves were made. David could feel her heart rate increase dramatically. Then they broke after half a minute.

"This isn't the best place for this..." said David looking around.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers." said Kei.

"Really? Well, most women would be repulsed by the background but...you're not 'most women'...thankfully. "

"Okay, enough about the background. Let's start all over here and now. We've got this whole place to ourselves...I say we take advantage of it." said Kei.

Kei then did something David did not expect. Behind them was a table, a long dinner table that was somewhat smooth, albeit dusty. She cleared the dust off. There were no words from David as we watched her sit on the table. She smiled with one foot crossed behind the other and her hands holding the edge of the table tightly. There was no explanation needed...

Meanwhile, somewhere on Mallora Island...

A little boy stood near a red plane. It was an old P-39 Air Cobra. Next him was a man in his early to middle thirties and a woman with a two girls that were about 6 and 3 respectively

"So what does that do, dad?" the young boy asked.

"Oh that, that's the ignition switch. That's how you..turn the plane on. Like you turn on the TV."

"Oh, give a rest, Van. He doesn't know about that stuff. Just let him be a kid." the woman said.

"Hey my father did this with me and look at me. Look what I did."

"What did you do?"

"Oh, it's a long story..."

"Oh dear."

He was Van Orel. Another Belkan War veteran that lived on the island. He had once lived in Erusea, then moved to Osea before the fascist rule took hold. He lived in large ethnic community in November City. As a child, he was obsessed with flying as he lived near an airport and would often watch the planes take off and land. As a young man, he met a woman named Justine, and both got married when they were 19 and 18 respectively. It was somewhat deviant to get married at 18 in Osea, but it's not quite uncommon in some countries.

He was a hearty guy, about 6'0 with black hair, blue eyes, and a distinct look to him that made him look older than he actually was. He attended college and majored in aeronautics. He graduated and entered Air Force OCS and pilot training. He missed the Belkan war, but was trained to fly an F-15. He fought in the Versuan Wars of 1999 and 2005. He scored 15 air to air victories before being shot down by SAM in late 2005. He was captured in a failed rescue attempt. He was beaten, tortured, and interrogated constantly for 5 weeks. During his captivity, Justine had given birth to Silla, their middle child. He was released on December 24, 2005. He constantly suffered from PTSM(post traumatic stress disorder); it was well known that capture by the Versuans meant the worst POW treatment in the world. He moved to this island to escape the pressures of society. He never was a fan of big cities. The air was clean, there was peace; it calmed his shattered nerves. He worked with another war veteran and friend named Claude Picarro. They both flew supplies to and from the mainland for nearby town. Then suddenly, a familiar sound could be heard. His friend was passing overhead...

"I knew he'd be up in the air...even on a day off. We'll better give him some company." said Van. Soon he kissed his wife and his kids as he always did whenever they saw him get into a plane, and it was up, up and away...


	3. New Management

Author's Note: I've made some changes on this one, including additions to the chapter.

Chapter 2: New Management

June 28, 2011

The house was actually part of the property. This only made things easier. David and Kei were a sort of traveling pair. They'd have to move from place to place to avoid any publicity. Here on Mallora Island, there really was no need. Most people simply mind their own business. So no one really objected to their presence. The house was several years old, with some older furniture left behind; It was medium sized house. For seventeen days straight, the pair did almost nothing but improve their inherited home. They did in seventeen days what it may take a month for regular couples to do. Perhaps it was drive; however, David would simply say, "What else do we have to do, really?"

As that thought passed over them as the job lay completed, the two simply sat on the floor with arms around each other relishing an amazing accomplishment.

"After all that, I'm too tired to even sleep." said a tired Kei.

"That's pretty bad. But, man...this place looks nice. Well, we may have to do something about the siding and we're going to need some better furniture but otherwise, we're done...somewhat." said David.

"Ugh, I'm a mess. I've got paint all over me, my hair's a wreck and the dye's going away." Kei complained.

David simply laughed. "Who'd have thought it? A few months ago we were discussing what ordinance to put on a fighter jet. Now we've redecorated a house in seventeen days and had a fight over what paint we were going to use!"

"I know, I'm still sorry about that. I don't know what I was thinking with the pink paint." said Kei in a very self loathing tone and shaking her head.

"In retrospect, my sister's room back home is painted pink so..."

"You mean...oh...We might have a use for it." Kei said.

Kei held back a chuckle. David wondered about it, but was interrupted by the sudden the sounds of planes over head. It sounded like two of them. But they were definitely not jets.

"You hear that?"

"Yeah. Probably transport planes or something."

"Ya know, there's a company out here that flies transport planes for the industries in town. I'm going to go check them out sometime."

Meanwhile...

Van and Claude were in their respective planes flying over the island in an ordered pair. They were flying like wingmen in war times long ago. They flipped and turned almost on a dime. They flew down towards the town at about a thousand feet. Below them, was a small school they often frequented at this time whenever they were free; a school that their children attended. They'd shout and yell and cheer like children do when they saw the two old friends perform their stunts for their pleasure.

"This is why I love flying!" exclaimed Claude finishing his roll over the excited children.

"You can say that again." said Van in a normal tone.

Suddenly, as both prepared to turn back into the island, a third plane joined them, a Fiat G-55. He flew right above them, rolled and sliced between the duo. Afterwards, he sliced upward and hovered in the middle of the pair.

"Where have you been man? We've been waiting forever!"

"Sorry. I had some technical difficulties. So did you hear?" the man said.

"Hear what?" asked Van.

"Someone else is taking the scrapyard. This young couple that flew here a couple of days ago."

"So they were the ones in the Cessna? I see. Well, I think we should pay them a visit shouldn't we? Give them a little island hospitality. What do you say, Needle?" asked Claude.

"Good idea. Besides, our house is being fumigated." said the man.

Van simply laughed in his usual hearty tone.

Even though none of them were in combat and hadn't been in combat for some time, they still shared the common bond of fighter pilots. They sometimes referred to each other's nicknames, that they would use as call signs. Claude was Red Rose and Van was Silver.

Quara Quaramine, the youngest of the trio at 30, was the man flying the Fiat G-55; he was the man known as Needle. He was always in a strange situation. He'd spent most of his time in northern Osea. He was Anean-born, and lived in Northern Yuktobania as a child. He eventually entered flight training at the vaulted Doten flight academy. He preformed so well he was sent to Osea as part of a rare exhange program. But Quara chose to remain in Osea, and flew F-15s for the 273rd TFS. Five years later, he returned to Yuktobania with the family he gained while in Osea. He was reassigned to the 107th FS on the small island of Bouganville, a former Anean colony. The 107th was one of the few squadrons was trained to fly foreign aircraft. He flew ended up flying with the infamous Umbrus Kadenas (Ghost Riders, loosely translated)that decimated the OFS Kestrel's naval squadrons in the month long battle of attrition in the Fuscum Sea. He flew with Flight A, the most battle-hardened, that the Osean pilots called "The Rat Pack". He shot down some 20 enemy planes. He also participated in the most famous aerial intercept in history, the 1,440 mile long shoot down of the much hated Osean General Collins; his Marine artillery platoon He returned to Osea at the end of the war. He eventually moved to the island, by the advice of a fellow pilot and got him a job as a mechanic, his first job.

Quaramine was once a man of divided loyalties.He felt like a double agent, and spent the war in a state of depression. Everytime he went out, he felt like a corrupt devil.But now everything was in it's right place. He felt whole again.

All three men now turned toward the scrap yard, to greet their new neighbors.

Meanwhile...

David and Kei had just finished cleaning up the floor, where all the stuff they used lay scattered across the floor. Boxes were everywhere. On one wall, the initial and famous picture of them lay. Across the other was the group photo at the wedding. Across from that was a not-so-famous picture, one that a man took while David landed after destroying the vaulted SOLG platform while Grimm was in the process of leaping, and Kei and Snow were walking gingerly toward the landing. After cleaning themselves, they walked along a rocky, dusty trail to the airfield/scrap yard.

"So I suppose we'd better finish checking out the grounds." said Kei.

"What about the others? We have to show them the place too. Hell, they may move here too. Why the hell not? Nice weather, nice surf, an infinite amount of planes to screw around with, walking along with the best, most beautiful woman in the world." said David in a jubilant tone of voice.

Kei simply blushed. She loved the constant shower of praise. She never viewed herself as beautiful; but for the first time in her life though, someone else thought she was beautiful.

For a long time, neither spoke. Both were content to just look at everything, with all communication being non-verbal. Each one could feel what the other was saying without talking.

But then the sounds of planes broke the silence. Then three planes could be seen flying overhead.

"Who's that?" said Kei.

"I don't know. But those are nice looking classics." said David.

The lead plane dived low and passed over them at about 500 ft. The others followed suit. They both ducked, David covering Kei from the flying dust. _Ever the gentlemen, she thought._

The three planes returned to their respective formations.

"Holy shit! Was that...no way...It couldn't be...Claude, did you see them? They looked like..." said a suprised Van.

"I saw them too. There's no way..It must be...it's Lovecraft! He looked just as his father did 15 years ago." said Claude.

"Well, there's only one way to be sure." said Van.

Meanwhile...

As the couple continued their stroll, it was suddenly interrupted once again as the the trio of planes turned back in. The three planes that landed at the airfield. Ones that had flew right over David and Kei. They landed in a group of three, an almost impossibly difficult thing to do on a landing. Whoever these men were, there were good pilots. They had to be locals. No one just lands classic aircraft at a random airfield for nothing. Suddenly, the canopies opened and three men in their early to mid thirties stepped out at once.

"Umm, can I help you?" said a cautious David.

The tallest man walked ahead of the group and about three feet from David.

"You gotta be kidding me.! Mike's boy in the flesh. I knew you guys were still around."

"What the...I'm not..."

"You don't have to bullshit me. Hell, I'd been following you for your entire 25 years. I knew your pops back during the war 15...16 years ago."

"Really?"

David and Kei exchanged bewildered looks.

"You don't remember me, but I'm actually your godfather, Claude."

"Really? He never told me about..."

"Of course he wouldn't. You spend 4 weeks in a Belkan POW camp and ask me how willing you are to share that "happy" memory. Hell, ask my friend Quara here."

"Hey." he simply said.

David's father never talked about the war back then. His mother didn't either. He never understood why until after he'd lived through a war. Even though they never spoke of it, they both suffered as a result of a war. His mother had a glass eye and his father he now knew endured inhuman treatment. But everything was over and there was really no time to waste hating the Belkans.

"So, with all that behind us...I suppose you're gonna need some directions or something."

"Nah, we'll be fine for now. We got some friends coming in to see the place in two days."

"Besides, we're just looking over the place."

"What to find old planes and fix em up? Join the club. There's _plenty _of planes here. They've got stuff from World War 1 here. Though, you're probably gonna need an experienced mechanic."

"Well, we got somebody in mind..." Kei said while she and David chuckled a bit.

"Well, let me introduce my friends proper. This is Van Orel, renaissance man, and Quara Quaramine, the only guy in the world who's first name is a part of his last name. He's the young guy of the group, but they call us "grizzled old veterans". Please. I'm not grizzled or old...in fact I feel better than ever. We work for a air delivery service called Exeter Inc. I think you may has have seen it, it's on the other side of the island. You know, we're looking for some people. Why don't you drop by?" said Claude in a somewhat cheerful tone.

"Sure. I'd love to."

"Great. Well, I'll see you guys around and you are welcome at my house anytime. We'd love to have you over. Might give us a chance to reminisce."

"Speaking of that, we're gonna have a housewarming party the day after tommorow, do you-"

"Of course! We'd love to go."

There was a bit of silence.

"Oookay. We'll we're see ya there, I guess." said David.

As the three men turned to leave for their planes, David turned to Kei. "I just have family popping up everywhere."

"Yeah...lucky you." said Kei in a aberrant sarcastic tone. There was a tense silence.

"Look, I know-"

"No, I'm..I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just...Never mind." said Kei in a soft voice.

"What is it? Is it your..." David had started to say, but Kei silently turned and walked off. There was no need for an explanation this time as well; but this was no tender romantic moment...


	4. A Hero's Gift

(I've done a little editing on the second draft)

Chapter 3- A Hero's Gift

May 1, 2011

Southern Osea

Jennifer Klien was an unusual woman in an unusual place. Why was she here? People would constantly ask that question. Her family was one of the richest in Osea. She could have anything she wanted, any man she wanted, anything at all. Some in their opinion, why would a 21-year old born into a large affluent family go off and marry a regular guy who was an orphan, relatively unattractive(to the most aesthetically inclined), and one who hardly had anywhere near the status and privilege she did. He was a lower middle class man, he never drank, he seemed to have the bare minimum of elitist sophistication. He was in the military. Why would she give it all up?

The money, the privilege, the titles made no sense to her. She took after her older sister, one who always believed in proving one's money's worth. Her family had little love, as it was constantly obsessed with gaining more money and lucrative business deals. Anything that interrupted this was ignored. The drive for more power was infuriating to her. And yet here was a guy who had pretty much nothing. Here was a man that was almost never loved, never cared for, and was never missed. He taught himself all the sophistication he needed to know. He was rough and tumble, expected of a person who had to make their own way. Yet, for some reason, he seemed as gentle as a house cat. His eyes were windows to a soul that had lived through everything. A man who had few friends, who once bounced around from foster home to foster home as a teenager. So it was this man that out of blue came and defended her as she lay stranded in a bad neighborhood due to a flat tire, something she was never taught to handle. And it was this man who worked and was inspired by what he saw. A man who spent it all on a ring to ask her to marry him. Here was a man that did everything for someone even if they did nothing for him. He gave it all, more than he should have. He spent much of their first year of marriage going though army basic training, airborne training, and the toughest of all: Ranger training. Even though his ranger regiment was never activated, he still fought for home in some far away place. She wore around her neck his Distinguished Service Cross, one given for his actions months ago. Inside of her carried his and her legacy; a legacy that they hoped they'd learn from the mistakes of the past.

Damien. That was the name of her personal hero. But there were so many wives who had their personal heroes.

However, Jennifer was fortunate. Damien had given far more than anyone could ask. But he lived. Her neighbors to her immediate left and right were not so fortunate. They had lost people her husband called his friends. They were gone and some knew families moved in. She could not have the arrogance to simply to only pay attention to her life. She was devout and every night she prayed for him. Was it God that saw him through? Or was it his skill? He was the designated marksmen for his unit. Was it his determination to return? She read his diary on occasion. There were many things about the war that shocked her. His vivid detail was as macabre as it was engrossing. But that was longer relevant. Damien was alive. But he was not here at the moment. Usually, he'd just drive his bike around to pass the time on the weekends.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Jen didn't have a lot of friends. She liked the small intimate company she kept. So who could it be?

She went to door, only to find a man who looked at bit like her Damien, but he was taller. Towering, that is. Jennifer was barely five tall. Her husband was only 5'7". This man was about 6'2".

"Can...can I help you?" she said nervously.

"Oh, is there a Damien Klein here?" the man asked her.

"Well, he's out right now. Are you a friend of his?"

"Well...not really. He does know my fiancee though...somewhat. I just wanted to thank him." he said.

"For what?"

"Well, this may take a little time to explain. Um..can I come in?" the man asked almost anticipating what the answer was going to be.

"Um...okay." she said tentatively.

The man was behind a set of sunglasses. He realized that he was making this woman extremely nervous, so he took them off. She was shaking, her lips were trembling. If only she knew who it was she was talking to.

"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable, but I really wanted to thank your husband. I really do. I took me forever to find this place." he said apologetically.

"Um...why? What did he do?"

The man looked at her blue laden cross.

"DFC huh? Your husband must be a pretty cracker jack guy huh." he said while chuckling.

Jennifer laughed nervously.

_Why is she so jittery? I didn't come here to take advantage of here. Well, I guess I can understand why. She's shorter than Kei. She's shorter than Grimm. I guess anyone could overpower her if they wanted to._

The man shook his head. "Well, I never got to thank him for helping me save my fiance's life."

Jennifer snapped back in attention. "Huh?"

"Well, I hate to do this. I can't keep up this facade any longer, it's driving me insane. Look, my name's David Lovecraft..."

"Lovecraft...so he was right." she said.

"What?"

"He never thought you guys were dead. He wrote about you guys a lot when he'd write to me."

"You knew?"

"We wrote me a long letter about it. Told me everything. About him getting lost in the woods, nearly getting captured, meeting who I assume is your fiancee, fixing the transmitter..."

"Yeah. That was it. She said she couldn't fix it. And somehow he did. He never told her how he did it though." David said.

"That man can fix anything."

"If it wasn't for him, we may never have found her. But he got no thanks from the media or whatever. They only wanted to talk about us and what we did. It's ironic that absolutely insignificant thing ends up saving the day, but in the end means nothing to everyone else except you and me." David said.

"Well, thank you. I'm sure he'll be here any time, so you can you can wait around if you want."

"No thanks. Um...actually, I was wondering if you'd like to come to our wedding."

"Huh..wel...sure! We'd be delighted. When is it?"

"Ten days. That isn't a problem isn't it?"

"No, not at all. He gets the weekends off. He hasn't used any vacation days since the base is so close to here. Says a lot about him...he'd rather be with me."

_I can see why, he thought._

"Where is it?"

"It's in...well..." David began to speak as he reached into his pocket and pulled out something, "Here's the address. We're keeping this pretty small."

"I understand." she said.

There was a pause and then David spoke up.

"If...I may ask, um...what is it? A girl or a boy?"

"It's a girl actually. He just doesn't know yet."

"Ah...I see."

"My friends thought I was crazy. I just wanted a family that was the opposite of my own family."

"Join the club."

"What...your childhood was bad as well?" Jennifer said nonchalantly.

"No...her's. In a way you cannot believe. I can't even tell you, much less understand it myself." said David sadly.

"Oh."

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence between the pair.

"Well...I'd better go. See you at the wedding."

And with that he was gone; but, not five minutes later another young man came inside. Or in his case, bounced in. He was about 24 years old, about 5'12", with green eyes and a brownish skin complexion. He was visibly scarred on his face and neck, a testament to his survival...and luck.

"Hey! I've got some good news." he said.

"I've got some too."

"Well, you go first."

"You're not gonna believe who just came to our house..."

July 10, 2010

Detroit, Osea

No matter how much she couldn't stand her parents, she could not lack the sadness of their departure. No matter if they crashed head on into each other while her mother, an avid alcoholic, was in her usual drunken stupor. But despite the lack of love, the lack of respect for her husband, their narcissm, they still left her a sizable chunk of their life's earnings: five hundred million dollars. She had it made already in her point of view. Now it was compounded by all this extra money. She took only a small percentage for her own family, a tad to secure the future of her and Damien's child and any others, bought him a new motorcycle, gave some to various charities and families members of those killed in the war(some subsequently being some of her husband's friends). Never before had she had the chance to lose it all in such a big way.

But what could she do now? What else could she buy for someone? There was the Lovecraft family, a family who'd saved her husband's life in that fateful drop on the last day of the war. David Lovecraft had gone out his way, risking exposure, to thank her husband for helping rescue his new wife. She never got to get them anything. So what could she do? _Get practical_, she thought. They were pilots. What does one get pilots...? A plane.

But what kind of plane? A modern jet was far too expensive to buy and maintain. A classic plane? That would be more practical. She remembered overhearing him say something to a friend of his.

_You know, I used to fly my grandfather's Messerschmitt before I went into the academy. It was a training version though._

Then again...she remembered the real reason why she considered doing this...

May 7, 2011

Somewhere in Northern Osea

It was quite the drive. Jennifer felt a bit sorry for David, having to drive a rowdy group of the opposite sex to a secluded town to get married. In the car was herself and David, Kei, and David's mother and sisterCatherine and Chloe. Catherine shared her son's eyes; but David was a carbon copy of father.She did not look a day over 35, yet was about seven or eight years older than that. Catherine was red-headed with smooth, freckled skin. Chloe had just turned 19. She was a thin, long-haired, blonde with blue eyes.Chloe had entertained everyone with her constant readings from _Aviation for Dummies, _a not-so-subtle hint at what her life's aspirations were. But it could have all come crashing down...

"So...how far are we from this place anyway?"asked a somewhat impatient Chloe.

"Six miles, at the most." David replied, "So anyone want anything or...?"

David was standing by the window. Kei was standing some 3 feet from him. Jennifer was standing near the door. Catherine was some 10 feet away. Chloe was 5 feet from the counter. The clerk was a guy in late teens, a man David thought was ogling at the estrogen express. But suddenly, everything changed. The other guests were someten miles behind because of some unknown delay. So it was quite a surpise when two armed men entered. In a shocking turn of events, one grabbed Jennifer and held a gun to her head. Kei's blood turned to ice. Catherine slipped and fell in one of the aisles in a panic. In a show of brutality, the other man wasted no time and shot the young man in he head. Chloe yelped as blood and sinew covered her. David's reaction was not one of fear, but sheer white hot rage.

For the first time in her life, Jennifer had known true fear. She could barely keep herself intact. She not only feared for her life, but her child's as well. David could see she was turning pale.

Jen's heart rate quadrupled. She was shaking and sweating. Tears were visible.

_My god, why now...This is just too cruel. Why? No sense begging him to let me go. My baby...He's already killed that man...what to stop him from killing us? Oh Mary full of grace..._

The second man pointed a gun at David as he kicked a bag over to him.

"You! Fill it up."

_This is the biggest exercise in stupidity I have ever seen outside of an aircraft, thought David._

Chloe was completely immobile. Catherine was off to the side, helpless. She watched in sheer terror her only son was forced to fill a bag with everything in the register. But David had other ideas...

"Hurry up!" the other man said impatiently.

David could sense the tension in them. The man who held Jennifer hostage was shifting his gun towards the others instead of her. The other man was doing the same. _These men are going to kill us. No doubt about it. If I could time it just right..._

What happened next was believed to only happen in the movies. It was perfection only seen when he was Blaze in the cockpit of a plane.

"Jen, duck!"

In an instant, she got down just as David threw the bag with all the force he could muster. Then his luck kicked in. The bag caught them by surprise. It hit one man in the face, he panicked...and shot his partner. Instinct. Kei kicked in to motion and held the other man in a headlock while disarming him. Jen then proceeded to kick him in the groin. Quick thinking he had. He'd saved their family and his own from what could have been a nasty sixfold murder. But for David, he acted as if the events never happened. Of course, Damien would have done the same thing. Would one expect anything less from those who'd faced death in the face as a profession...

Present Day...

She owed her life to that man. With that thought, she found herself at a random mansion in North Hampton talking to an old friend of her father.

"So you're interested in these?" the older man said.

"Yes, I am." Jen said.

"Just for collection or to fly yourself?"

"I do actually have a pilot's license. But it's not for me. Even if it was...as you can see..."

"Oh yes, yes. Um, how much are you offering?"

"How much you want for 'em?." she said with a smile. She never really realized how fun philanthropy could be. _Now I just have to figure out where and how I'm going to get theseplanestoMallora Island._

To be continued...


	5. The Ghost in the Machine: Part I

Author's note: I've made some major corrections in Chapters 1 and 2, so it may do some good if you go back and read those parts.

Chapter 4: The Ghost in the Machine(Part I)

June 30, 2011

"Some housewarming party." said David with a smile. Everyone had left for the night and only Kei and him remained. Kei was sitting on the velvet couch with one leg folded over another apparently tired. David came over and sat down next to her, putting his feet on the table.

"It was so good to see everybody again. I mean, it seemed so long ago, but it was only a few months. It's like nothing's changed. Well, almost." he said cheerfully.

"Well, now that everyone's gone, there's something I need to tell you." said Kei in a serious tone.

David paused. "Okay, go on."

"No, it's really important. David...I'm-"

"I know."

Kei's eyes widened in shock. "What!"

"I knew something was up with you recently. It was also interesting to note how you didn't take a sip of that Chardonnay my mother brought. Plus she hinted at it during the party. It didn't take me long to put two and two together" said David.

Kei's eyes lit up again and she put her arms around David.

"Oh my, I can't believe this his happening to me. Everything I've wished for is coming true." she said between tears and laughter.

"Now this is has been quite a day. We're going to be parents, my sister's going to be a pilot, and man...Quara. I had no idea...

"Yes. That was intense. Who knew? But I'm glad it turned out the way it did."

An hour earlier...

Some of the people that had been invited to the party had already left, most notably David's parents, and the Captain and Nastasha. The only people there were David and Kei, Snow, Claude, Marimeydia, Van and Quara.

"So he really shot you down before you married her?" asked David in

David found himself talking to the one-eyed Marimeydia Sophie Piccaro-Kushrenada. She was sharing the story of how her and Claude met. All the while, she was looking at him talking to the others.

"Yes, we fought five times before that resolved. It was quite invigorating. We always argue over who won each fight. One time Claude and I got into it so much it degenerated into a family pillow fight. He's so goofy sometimes. You should see him around the kids. He's just...you'd never think he was a fighter pilot." she said.

"Hell, people often said that about me. I was always characterized as this happy-go-lucky guy for the longest time."

"Yes...God, this thing itches sometimes..." Mari said while pulling off the large eye patch she had on. There was a large patch of pinkish, brown, dead skin around her former eye cavity. David looked in disgust. "Holy...put that thing back on please. Man, that's..."

"I know; it's repulsing. There was a young pilot in our squadron, back when we were flying for Yuktobania, that had found a prized Versuan handgun. He was going around showing it off insisting that it wasn't loaded. There was no clip in it, but there was a round in the chamber. But in his jubilation, he tripped, it fired, and hit a tank of acidic materials...not 5 meters from me. That was the worst pain I'd ever felt in my life." she said softly.

"Geez...That must have been painful."

As they continued to talk. Kei seemed to drift from the others. There was something else on her mind. She wanted to pull David away and tell him, but now she could not tear herself away from the conversation. So then Quara began to speak to Claude and the others. Quara was a well-spoken individual. She knew he was from Anea, and had lived here and Yuktobania.

"So, what do you do?" asked

"Oh..me, I'm actually with the Yuke Air Force. I sort of split my time between here and the motherland."

"You know, you sound familiar."

Kei could see Quara's blank expression.

"Really? I sound familiar? Who do I remind you of?" he said.

"Before we were station keeping around Kirwin Island, we had been fighting in this month long battle." said Snow looking in David's direction(who'd turned to hear the conversation), "That was why I was the only one left."

"Really? I was wondering what happened to all of them. That must of been one hellish battle." said David.

"Indeed it was. We were attacking the Bougainville Island, which housed a Yuke airfield and command and control center for naval operations in the Fuscum Sea. We were deployed there in late October for diverting forces from Bastok to support the upcoming invasion. We thought the campaign would be easy, that the Yukes wouldn't resist the way they did. We were sorely mistaken."

Kei remembered that Claude had also been with the Yukes for some time. Quara was still silent.

"The island was heavily defended, and it was for good reason. It was the first time we ever encountered Osean made aircraft in the air. Most of the planes we faced were made by other countries. And even if they had them, they were 'watered down' so to speak. We expected the same. But these aircraft as we came to find out were spared no expense...and the people who flew them were more experienced that we were. It wasn't until recently that the Yukes weren't even supposed to have the aircraft. It was a secret deal with the Osean government back in 2000, long before the war. The project was slow to get off the ground, then they brought their best pilot cadets here in 2006 to train on them. For 3 years, the had the best training possible. So they went home, trained on the most dominant fighter ever, the F-15. There were 20 of them, I think."

"F-15s being shipped to Yuktobania? I recall seeing some in the air, but they were probably manufactured under license. They used their own technology, and it wasn't as good as ours. But these 20 were the best ever. I see."

"They were building up a defensive stronghold at sea to defend against an amphibious attack on Ocktabursk. Our superiors underestimated the scale of the threat. We sent out a patrol to clean up enemy fighters and no one returned. It wasn't until I went myself that I saw what was really going on. We were shocked, and it justified the panicked screams on the radio we heard during the first mission. There was little we could do against them. We had no training on how to fight the F-15s; it was compounded by the people inside of them. They flew like professionals, they talked like professionals, they fought like professionals. For awhile, we had some respect for them. There were also other planes on the islands, Su-27Ks that would come up and engage us. They were naval aircraft. We found them easier to deal with. Then, they came..."

"Who's they?"

"The most skilled of the F-15 drivers. Their planes were painted with a black and grey. There were never alone, always with a wing man or two or three, or even four. They were the vanguard of the island defense. We lost 10 planes to them in the first week. I listened to them on the radio, and sometimes they'd talk about old classical singers...like Parker and Sinatra. So I came to know those four men, and the one woman, as "The Rat Pack". But you have to keep in mind, the real battle had not even begun."

"It wasn't until the 2nd week that command decided to commit the entire 3rd fleet. Our objective had changed. The Yukes were moving their 4th Fleet from one side of the Fuscum Sea to the other. We had no doubt it would be a major battle fleet action. But in reality, it was the few on the island that decided it. We were ordered to attack the island and secure it with Marines on the ground. That didn't go well at all. Our cruise missiles were intercepted by their own. Attacking the island meant running a gauntlet of SAMs and flak. We lost many planes in the island raids. Then the "Rats" struck again. This time, they'd hit the light carriers the Marines were using. A surface invasion was out of the question now. It eventually degenerated into a battle of attrition. The Kestrel's sister carrier, the Titan, also bore the brunt of the fighting. We'd shoot down some of their 27s and they'd get some of us. It went on for days. And the worst was yet to come. There were other islands in the area where civilians lived. A pilot apparently dropped a bunker buster on what we was told was a strategic target turned out to a air raid shelter. The next day, at high noon, we had to contest with everything. Both fleets had moved into position. The battle was on and lasted all day and night. I don't remember how many aircraft both sides had, but there had to be no less than 120 aircraft turning in the skies above the sea. The F-15s had their field day, and blew away some 13 of my squad mates. We lost the Titan to a surprise attack by enemy Migs, which we had been trained to fight against. This was on November 18th."

_The same day we found Kei in the snow, David thought._

"It was a disaster for us. Our so-called invincible Navy had been decimated over the battles. The Kestrel's air fleet was all but gone. The Titian was gone. The Marines tried Harriers against the enemy, but were slaughtered by the Yuke F-15s. We had no choice but to fall back. But they still came. As we retreated, a small group of planes attacked. Being the only one left, I took off to engage. There were two in the group and I bested them both. But on my way to the carrier, one of the "Rats" came. He wouldn't let me go. He followed me for 8 minutes and he fired two missles at me. His fangs were out and he almost got me. But suddenly, he turned away. I think he must have had an engine problem or something. And I tell you, I knew someone was watching after me. He was just a mile away. But I'll never forget the last words he said."

"What did he say?"

"It was strange. He said 'Screlanar!'. I had no idea what it meant." said Snow.

"Oh that, it's Yuke pilot lingo. It means, 'Fighter has electrical trouble'. So that's what it was...a ghost in the machine." said Van.

"I wonder who that guy was. Maybe he gave up? I don't know. I just wish I knew. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't be here right now. One thing about the 'Rats' was they had some planetary related call sign. The lead plane was Jupiter, the trail was Ganymede, then Venus, Charon, finally there was the last guy who flew on the lead's left, Callisto."

Kei noticed Quara's shifting stance. Was he hiding something?

"That was...quite a fascinating story." said Kei.

"Callisto. That's a really cool nickname. Why didn't I come up with that?" said David while laughing a bit.

Quara was more visible about his shifting, yet few made notice of it.

"So why did I remind you of this...Callisto?" said Quara nervously.

"I don't know. He spoke kinda like you; he was somewhat terse person. Maybe, I'm wrong."

Quara bit his lip. _I can't do this. No, you have to...you gotta tell him. It's been with me everyday since then._

"You're very perceptive. Since I...am the Callisto you speak of..." he said.

One could hear a pin drop in the room.

To be continued...


	6. The Ghost in the Machine: Part II

Chapter 5: The Ghost in the Machine(Part II)

Quara's admission to being a member of that hated squadron during the war had caught everyone off guard, even Claude.

"You...were a member of the Kaderas?"

"Kaderas? I've never heard of them."

Quara took a deep breath amid scrutinizing looks.

"Well, I was a pilot cadet about 10 years ago in Yuktobania. It is true that Osea gave us F-15. It was a sign of the alliance and it was also an experimental program. The top cadets were sent over for flight training on the F-15s. Three years of training followed. I became one of the wing commanders. That is until that car accident that put me out for 4 weeks. Then Valentin Horan and his wing man Alexei Vaati was promoted ahead of me one week before I got out, although they were younger than me by 3 years. Our commander was Lt Col. Fushida, a Belkan War veteran and a "firm but fair" attitude. During that time, I managed to gain dual citizenship...a difficult thing to get. I met my wife here as well. This period was what we called "Jubamarae"...the happy time. We were constantly splitting time between the two countries. We trained new pilots in new tactics, training, an more. Our training took place mostly in the Texas district in central Osea. We were trained by a former naval attack squadron turned aggressor/training squadron, nicknamed the Ghost Riders. We liked them so much we called ourselves Umbras Kaderas, or "Ghost Riders", loosely translated. In 2005, we returned home permanently, but I was allowed to keep my dual citizenship. We became the 107th Squadron based on Bouganville Island."

"So you were part of them...the ones who shot down all those pilots on the Kestrel!" said a visibly angry Snow. David's expression twisted a bit.

Quara's expression did not change.

"Yes. I was. We flew in defense of the island during the war. We knew nothing of the St. Hewlett attacks or the preparation. We were mostly kept in the dark. Then the war's among us. We were caught up in it and there was no way out. But we were professional aviators, what were going to do? Quit? Of course not. We went about our jobs as were trained. When the fighting started, there was no time to consider morality or what was really going on. We were told by our instructors in Osea to never hesitate once you've fixed the enemy. It's you or him. So frankly at the time, I didn't care to some extent."

"You...didn't...care? At all?" said Kei. "You don't care about those people? They meant nothing to you!"

"Correction. I said _at the time_. None of really did. We couldn't...in front of superiors. This was a savage life or death struggle Kei! In perfect conditions, we would have all been wiped out. They could have overrun us indefinitely. But it was because of our training we survived. We got used to combat. Day after day we went up...totally accepting of our fate, whatever it may be. But to say we had no feelings was not totally true. We did have a respect for the enemy. But that was when we were out of the plane. In the plane, we became detached from all the questions. Some of us had respect. There were the select few that...well, they wanted to kill every person on every last ship that was there. But at the time, they had pretty good reason to. There was Nadia, who flew in fourth position; Nadia was out for cold, hard revenge. It was ironic. Before the war, she was nice, amicable person. After the November 2nd incident, her blood always boiling with poison. She had good reason too. When we moved back, her family was living in Alt Alsce in the Dresdene...5 blocks away from that engineering college. Her entire family was over for a party; a stray bomb killed them all except her husband and a distant cousin, who's actually related to Alexei by some weird family tie. She was never the same since. She still hasn't completely recovered. She even tried to kill herself 3 weeks into the battle. Sad, isn't it?"

The looks of surprise turned to mixed looks of disgust and smpathy.

"But she still went up...even after that. We all the same objectives: fly, survive, get home...or what was left of it. Everything else was secondary. _Everything_."

_Everything. Basic survival instinct invariably falls to the individuals. Groups of these are deadly in combat, David thought._

"Did you ever think those people had families, friends, lives they led!" Kei yelled at him.

There was a bit of silence.

"Did you?" Quara responded with a touch of sarcasm.

Kei realized what she was doing. She was too eager to crucify a man who seemingly opposed everything she believed in. People that enjoyed conflict. Yet, she too at times was caught up in the frenzy of conflict. _I'm such a hypocrite._ _I guess that was the nice way of saying, shut the hell up._

"Did I feel bad about it? Of course I did when we learned what was really going on. I never enjoyed it. I hated it. But what were we going to do? Quit. No way. What kind of army would we have if we did that? So I came back here, feeling guilty all this time; even now."

"Why didn't you tell us this Quara?" asked Claude.

"I had no intention to. Everyday since it's been on my mind. If it were different, I may still feel like I do now." Quara replied.

There was a bit of silence. Snow's disgust at Quara slowly went away. Then the both of them did something that once again, was only thought to be in the movies. They shook hands. There were smiles from everyone.

"It is sad, really. What else could have been have done?" said Snow.

"You know, we always respected you guys. Really. But you know, the term 'Rat Pack', isn't really the right term. We love Osean jazz and big band classics, but the one thing we love most of all are Wild West films. Like I said, we did most of our training in the Texas district. We flew over the desert a lot. Our favorite thing to do was dogfight with guns. It was a "wild west show" and subsequently we gave ourselves western nicknames. I was Buffalo Bill, Valentin was Butch Cassidy, Yaj was Tuco, Alexei was Sundance Kid, and Nadia was Calamity Jane."

Everyone burst into laughter. "Now why didn't we think of that!" said David through laughter.

"Before every take off, we'd have our own briefing in the hangar. Our code words reflected where we trained. On a radio check, we'd call "Houston". We'd call instead of 'Sierra Hotel' we'd say 'Alamo!' or something like that. On contact with the enemy, we'd say 'Texas'. It was done for confusion purposes as well."

Quara and Snow seemed to go off into their own conversation as the night came upon the world. Soon they were talking if they were old friends. As everyone trickled out, Kei was obviously happy. _We've come a long way. Two guys come in as total strangers and enemies and walk out as friends._ _That's the way the world should be._

July 28, 2011

Mallora Island

Life seemed to come together. Their friends would visit on the weekends, as David's job of flying mail to the mainland took up most of his week. On the weekends, he worked on a Messerschmitt and a F4U-Corsair he found in the depths of the scrap yard. Kei would help him paint it; in between the painting, there was the conversations they had about life, their interests, what they would name the baby, whether or not to paint the baby' room pink if it were a girl, what to nickname their planes, etc.

But there was far more to do and a long way to go...

To be continued...


	7. The Birth of The Red Baroness

Chapter 6: The Birth of The Red Baroness

December 1, 2011

Mallora Island

The months passed and the world was still at peace. David would fly during the week and come home on the weekends to be with his wife and work on the planes. Also, Chloe would come over as well, as she was off on the weekends from college. She'd tell them about her status in her flight training. She was doing remarkably well. Grimm would also visit to see Chloe as well. After the incident at the day before Kei and David's wedding, they'd been almost inseparable. David began to notice that Chloe was no longer the prima donna, fashion-obsessed, narcissist she was when she was a teenager. Chloe was spoiled in many ways in the past. She was painfully annoying and overbearing to deal with at times, but she was sincere as well. Now this bright eyed young woman, stood for her final test. How she made time for both college and pilot training David did not know. But somehow she managed.

For Kei, she'd take walks around the place, write in that book of hers, and just sit out in the field and paint the landscape. She'd gotten so good at painting, she'd sell them to tourists in town and such. All the while, she had these periods where she'd have conversations with her unborn child; something that even David found a bit strange.

Then there was the flying. The previous owners had done a good job of keeping the older planes in good shape. All they needed was a tune up, some gas, and some lubricants, and they were ready to go. Kei had already picked out her personal "mount", as she called it, an F4U-Corsair she found 3 months ago. David would help her paint it a bright purple, something that always brought him a laugh. At the end of it, they'd be covered in purple paint and laughing and living life in full. They'd finished painting all the other planes, most recently being David's "ride of choice" a Messerschmitt Me-109. He painted it black, and called it _The_ _Black Baron_ as a throwback to the famous ace of the same nickname. Kei named her plane _The Violet Avenger_.

Grimm had found a Fokke-Wuff 190 and named it _Green Lantern_. Snow had found a Grumman F6F Hellcat and called it _Blue Lucy_, named after his wife.Chloe had even found the plane she was going to fly around for fun once she finished her flight training; it was an old P-38 Lightning she painted bright red and named _Candy Apple_. The names were silly for the most part, but it would soon come time where everyone would fly again as one.

Finally, last week, she came back with the incredible news. She'd passed in a mere seven months, the second fastest time of the year to complete the curriculum. It had taken her seven months, countless cups of coffee, sleepless nights, constant badgering of Grimm and David, weekend manicure/study sessions with Kei, and two battles with the flu to get to this point. So it was the quartet of the former Razgriz found themselves waiting on the airfield for her to emerge from the building.

"I gotta hand it to her. She worked her ass off for the first time in her life." said David.

"I know. We kinda had to push and drag her along but she did it." said Grimm.

"It was kinda like us back at the academy." said Kei.

"Yeah, but you didn't fret when you broke a nail in the cockpit." replied David.

"Well, there she is. Well, it seems the spirit of flying's in your whole family Blaze...what in..." said a shocked Snow.

David looked closer at Chloe's clothes. It was incredible. She was wearing a cherry red suit, a pink scarf around her neck, and a set of pink and white flight goggles. Her boots were candy striped in white and red. Her gloves were ivory white with hearts in them. Her hair was shorter than before and her helmet was white with the same candy stripe design. Everyone burst into laughter.

"You have _got _to be kidding me!" said David while trying to hold back laughter, "Please tell me you're not going up in that! You're embarrassing me! What the hell is this!"

"The more things change, the more they stay the same..." said Grimm.

"I have to admit, as silly as this looks, I have never seen a pilot go all out like this." said Snow.

"I don't know, it looks cute."

"Of course you'd say that! What else are you gonna tell her?"

May 10, 2011

It was exactly 12 hours and 35 minutes before the wedding. So it was that everyone found themselves in the same hotel. They were exactly 40 guests there. They'd journeyed a long way to witness a wedding that some knew was inevitable. But for Chloe Lovecraft, it was a something else. The last few months had been reality smacking her in the face. For starters, when she complained about Kei not having any bridesmaids to David he simply blew her off. _Why do you care! You didn't even know her! You didn't even like her when I introduced her to you! You've always been a selfish little girl! Hell, Anna's more mature than you and she's eleven!_

Then there was all the other things on her mind. The pressures of life were building in her mind. There was the murder she witnessed at the gas station some days ago. There was her college age boyfriend who she felt he could love until another unexpected woman suddenly popped out in his dorm. There were her friends who were back at home, people who she never thought were real firends but hung on to them to have some facade of companionship. There was David, of course, a person she disliked her whole life. Was it the fact that she felt he had a much better time in life? A person who disliked her attitude on life. They never agreed on anything. Was it that all her life, she felt her parents treated him special? Was it that she felt she had to obsess about herself to make it in life. Was it that David was marrying a woman of a different race all together...something while she did not condemn, made her very uncomfortable. There were just too many things to worry about. She was an alien in her own family...and her brother had a far more unusual experience only to be welcomed back with open arms.

Or was it really about the soon-to-be couple? Was it the fact he found true love and she didn't. Was it jealousy? David had it all. He was a made man and he knew it. Why? He never told her about what he did. Why?

All of these thoughts were musing in her head all at once; it was making her dizzy. Her life was falling apart at 18, if it had not already. She had to change. She had to change now. But how? The first thing she had to do was to stop wallowing on the floor, crying for absolutely no reason. _David was right. I am being a little girl. I can't keep this up. I can't keep obsessing about what I wear and what I want all the time. I can't keep pushing everyone away because I felt I was better than everyone else. No. I have to do something._

But as soon as she got up, she ran right into "him"...and little did she know her life would change forever.

Present Day...

"I will say this. I've never seen anything so ingenious and insane at the same time." said Kei, "My hat is off. You are a professional."

There was another pause.

"Professional? You call candy striped helmets...professional?" said David.

"It's a subjective term." said Grimm.

_Subjective my ass_. David was still being the cynic he always was. His words were not empty, but he still held back some doubt for a person who up until now was all but incorrigible.

"So what's your call sign gonna be?" asked Snow.

"Call sign...uh...how about...The...Red Baron...ess. The Red Baroness. YES! Just like the ace. Baron von...whatever his name is, right? From the this point forward, I will be known as the Red Baroness." said Chloe excitedly.

There was another period of silence.

_Maybe I was wrong._

"It's gonna be rough without you in the air, love." he suddenly said to Kei.

"I know. I mean I wish this kid would hurry up and be born but...I'll manage. I can wait for a while longer."

"Now where is Claude and the others?" asked David looking up in the sky.

Suddenly, as if on cue, there were four old planes passing above. The fourth plane was flying behind the lead plane.

"Wait a minute...who'd the fourth plane?"

"It's Marimeydia." said David.

"Who?" asked Chloe.

"You know, the one-eyed chick. Claude's wife...the violin player."

"Oh, I remember her. She was really nice...for a Versuan." said Chloe.

"Hey, enough already. Let's get flying!" said Grimm.

David kept his discontent of his sister to himself. She was showing signs of maturity...but she had a long way to go.

To be continued...


	8. Farewell to Innocence

Author's note: This part is replacing the previous version of chapter 7. The original was a mistake on my part.

Chapter 7: Farewell to Innocence

November 29, 2010

Somewhere over the Ceres Ocean

There was a rare silence in the air. For people that had accomplished one great thing after another...there was no celebration. They held the lines at Bougainville, successfully defended the city of Kregin on the far edge of the Jilachi Desert, they had engaged and defeated so many enemies and not had a single loss in the 20 plane squadron. But there was nothing to celebrate...at least in Major Quara Quaramine's view. He remembered it clearly...

"_1-1-0. He's dragging high...two on the left! One by six heading down at 7 o'clock low. He's on you 3! Watch it!"_

"_2, 2-1-0.Tango on nose. Fox 1, Fox 1! No good. Flares out. Breaking left at 2-7-7, heading down in tho stadium."_

"_Nadia, watch it! Don't to get too low. Drag him up to us! Three at...wait...one on the left. Alexei do you see it!"_

"_Negative."_

"_Tally ho. Confirm Texas. One on left. Take him!"_

"_On the left...one...revolver! Good hits on target. Not down, he's still up."_

"_Callisto, go double Archer!"_

"_Roger! Lock on!"_

"_Lock on!...Away! Missile's loose!"_

"_Mine's heading on...come baby, I got you baby! I got ya...hit! Wait...Jupiter, was that yours?"_

"_No...I don't think so."_

"_Wait..he's not going down...he's still smoking."_

"_He'll go down eventually. Focus on other tangos."_

"_Roger."_

"_What are they doing? Those idiots! Why are they going after the wounded Demon?"_

"_Ah! Again! Damned Eagle! Piece of...! I'm pulling out!"_

"_I got no ammo."_

"_Winchester. Damn these guys are good. Jupiter, suggest we pull out."_

"_Roger. Look at them...their still going...wait...he's gone. Callisto, you magnificent bastard...you did it!"_

"_Was that me...or you?"_

"_Hell, it was yours."_

"_Go to UHF secure. Val, you take it. I couldn't deal with that kind of pressure man. Think about it. Hell, if anyone needs the publicity it's you."_

"_Quara...you think I need publicity! Their already making a propaganda film about that damned Osean artillery strike that turned my wife into a paraplegic! Fuck you!"_

"_Fine. I'll take the heat! Makes me one fine hypocrite but I'll take it!"_

"_No. I'm sorry. I understand. Okay, you want me to have it, then I'll take it...Damn greedy politicians. They can all burn in Hell."_

"_Amen to that; and we'll bear witness to it...we'll have front row seats."_

There was really no need for any discussion. The ride back to Yuktobania was long and arduous. They'd been "volunteered" for this mission; after all, they were the saviors of the Bougainville Islands. All five of the flight from the 107th had made it back. Only 6 of the 32 other planes that were chosen for the ambush returned.

Yet even now, it would be on Quara's mind, a year later.He had held the secret long enough. Everyone believed that it was Valentin that did it.But it had been awhile since he'd spoken to his friend. Perhaps it was time for reunion.

December 2, 2011

Detroit, Osea

It was all ready. Free of carrying her daughter, Jennifer Klein stood ready to fly her "gifts" to the couple who'd saved her family's life. To do this, she had recruited the help of a cousin...oddly enough it was Van Orel. The next was Adam Kamprand, her brother-in-law. His wife, Alice Kamprand-Matenopolis, was one of the few people that accepted Damien in to her families' exotic lifestyle. They had been in the hangar for some 5 months, but now they were ready to be flown; it was a pair of almost untouched P-51 Mustangs.

"Wow. This is incredible, and you're doing all this for one guy?" said Alice.

"Well, you know me. I have all this money, and I don't what to do with myself."

"I will say this. You're the most unusual rich person I've ever met." said Van.

"Okay. Let's get ready." Jennifer said while clasping her hands together.

"Wait. Are you flying one yourself?" asked Alice.

"Of course. I've flown these things before." said Jennifer.

"Okay. Well, we'll be right behind you in the Cessna." said Adam.

"Weather's going to be nice. All we have to do is follow the river east and bam...we're there."

"I hope the weather holds up. Mallora Island's weather can be a bit fickle." said Van.

"Well, I don't want to put this off any longer." replied Jennifer.

"Okay..." said Van.

So it was that the planes were beginning take off, Jennifer had nothing but happy thoughts. Van however, was in a much different frame of mind. He was not usually a cynic, but for some reason he had a sinking feeling. Yet no one would

The next day...

Damien Klein was a unusual man in a rather mundane situation. He sat scooping a small spoon of puree preparing to feed his infant daughter, Evangeline Apalone. She was only three months old. He'd occasionally have his own fun with it and make humorous airplane noises while sticking the spoon into his laughing child's mouth.

"You know when we mommy gets back we're going to go the annual boardwalk party were I took mommy out after we met. I can't wait. I can't believe it, a second anniversary." he said to her.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Damien set the bowl and spoon down and walked over to a phone.

"Yeah, go...huh? Wha...what, calm down honey! What the hell happened? What! No way! You...you're kidding me. This is a joke right? They're...dead! Where's the others? Oh my god...How did this happen? What about David and them? Are they...okay...wait...what the...I thought you said the weather was fine! What? Okay, start from the beginning. Nice and slow. Breath. It's okay. I'm listening." he said.

The conversation continued. A rather bittersweet incident had occurred. As Damien listened to his wife's panicked words, he could wonder the true extent of the tragedy that has unfolded out of his sight and mind...

December 2, 2010

Mallora Island

They were waiting on their visitors like they were preparing to open Christmas presents. In the low lying control room sat David, Kei, Anna Lovecraft(who was temporarily staying with them), And one other guest, one David knew quite well: Pops. Chloe and Grimm were out for the time being.

"You guys have done an excellent job with this place."

"You're telling me. Can this get any better? All this plus, Jennifer's giving us Mustangs! Mustangs for crying out loud! In perfect condition." said David excitedly.

"What's a mustang? Isn't that a horse?" asked Anna.

"It's only the greatest fighter plane ever made." replied David.

"I thought you said your Mirage was the best ever made." said Pops.

"Well, one of the best. But man, I feel like a kid waiting to open a birthday present."

"Okay, they should be here any second now."

"Hey, the skies getting dark! It's gonna rain."

"Oh dam...I mean, oh crap!" said David correcting his language, "The weather's acting funky again. Of all times! We need to get the landing lights on."

"Can Jennifer fly in the rain?" asked Kei.

"I hope to God she can. Or she's in trouble. We may have to call it off."

"Maybe, maybe not. It's passing pretty fast. They may miss it." said Pops.

"I hope..."

Meanwhile...

It was good to be in the air once again. Jennifer Klein handled her own gift like a professional. But Van was flying perfectly. He even pulled some rolls and flips, much to the chagrin of Jennifer. But what does one expect from a Air Force veteran?

"0-7-1, prepare to turn to 2-6-0." said Jennifer.

"Roger. Hey, the sky's looking nasty over there. Maybe we should wait it out?" asked Adam in the Cessna.

"Don't worry about it! I've flown in this weather before."

_Famous last words, Adam thought._

"I have visual of the island. We're getting close. Here goes!"

The three planes plunged into the heart of the storm. Visibility was not so poor, but the rain and wind were tricky on the handling as Jennifer struggled to right her airplane. The three planes were close together.

"Back off a bit."

"Got ya. Slowing." said Adam.

"Okay, you're fine. Charlie-Delta-Zero-One this Bravo-Sigma-Two-Zero, do you copy?" Jennifer said in a louder voice than usual.

"You don't have to say that. We hear you loud and clear. Recommend careful approach from 3-4-0 to 2-7-0, be advised we are getting heavy wind here. Recommend you land quickly. Over."

"Thanks. Coming in."

"Okay...here we go. You okay honey?"

Alice had not moved an inch or spoken a word. She too was feeling something was about to happen. Van was moving his plane into position. The runway was going to be a rough landing. It was old, bumpy and slippery because of the rain.

"Bravo-Sigma-Two-Zero, this Alpha-Echo-Zero-Three I have visual contact with the runway, and I am starting my approach." said Van professionally. The rain intensified and the wind picked up. But Van slowly made his appraoch swinging around the airfield as David's contingent looked on. Everyone waited as Van finally hit the runway and eventually came to a stop. Adam would land next. Alice seemed to have a mild fear of flying.

In the control room, everyone watched as the storm picked up.

"This is getting really nasty. We gotta get em on the ground now."

"They seem to be doing fine. Look, the Cessna's coming in. It's doing pretty good."

"Yeah, holy crap! Did you see that!"

In a flash of seconds, all hell broke loose. A lighting bolt hit Adam's Cessna. Jen's heart stopped and her blood turned cold. The screams intensified, and the flaming plane was forced down by gravity...not 50 yards from David's position.

"Get down!" David yelled. Everyone got down as best they could.

WHAM! The plane hit the older hangar on the right side of the runway directly in front of them and exploded. David tried his best to protect Kei, just has he done when he was Blaze in the cockpit of a fighter jet. The resulting blast shook everything and debris went everywhere.

"What happened. Adam? Alice? _Alice_! Somebody? Anybody!" she said, her voice obviously cracking.

Jennifer could not be in more danger. The fires had consumed the upper part of the runway. She only had 950 ft to land rather than 2000. She could try and overshoot it, but she risked crashing the plane. But with no knowledge as to whether or not who was dead or alive, she had no choice.

_God, I've never asked you for much. But please...let me live through this. Please let me land this airplane._

She came in, eased on the brakes, lowered the landing gear and aimed perfectly past the flames. She slowed down so much she nearly stalled the plane. But when she landed the plane, relief turned to shock.

"Tree!" she shouted, trying to turn right but to no avail. She hit the tree with her right wing and the plane tumbled and rolled. Jennifer was bounced around like the ball in a aerosol can. But she was alive as the plane turned right side up. She was unscathed.

"Thank you. Thank you." she said silently.

Meanwhile...

David quickly recovered from the initial shock of the blast. He picked Kei off the floor. They wre lucky. Most of the flimsy structure had been blown away. Pops too was fine with only a few bruises. But relief gave way to horror.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna go see if the others are alright." said Pops.

"You be careful buddy." said David.

Pops went out and braved the strange mixture of rain and fire. As they prepared to evacuate, another concern presented itself.

"Where's Anna?" asked Kei.

"Anna? Anna! Where are you! You alright?" David said frantically.

As David frantically looked around, he noticed the pieces of sharp shrapnel everywhere. Then, Kei found her. She was cowering under the table near the door, that had all but blown way. She noticed a streak of blood by her and on the wall there was a sharp tool of some kind.

David ran over. "You alright?"

Anna did not speak. She kept the same expression the entire time.

"Anna?" he asked again.

As David tried to help her out from under the table, he noticed something. She was in the fetal position, almost as if she was clutching something. As he turned her over, blood spilled out from her. He turned her over only to find a heartbreaking sight. She had been impaled cleanly...but the tool he saw on the wall. Her eyes were bleeding as she had a piece of metal stuck in her head and her white clothes were soaked in her blood. It took David a full minute to speak. He stepped back and let out an anguished, saddened sigh that was almost unheard of unless in the movies.

"Ahhh! GOD! ANNNNA! Why? Why did I...I should have..." David sputtered out.

Kei was too shocked to even to even speak. For the first time ever, she was seeing him cry. But this was no ordinary cry. This was a cry that bellowed out the very soul. As he simply held the corpse of what used to be his little sister, the only thing she should do was hold him...

"She wanted to be just like me." he said through his tears.

It then became clear to Kei. She remembered what his mother said of the relationship between the two.

_I swear sometimes, the way they act around each other...if David was a little older he could be Anna's father. So I wouldn't worry about him not a good father, he's getting plenty of experience._

To be continued...


	9. Just Cause

Chapter 8: Just Cause

December 3, 2010

Van was lucky. The explosion had only burned most of his clothes. He still had minor burns but nothing life-threatening. In some ways it was a throwback to his days in air warfare and how lucky he was to survive it. Yet for the others waiting on his status, it was a mystery as to how he was doing. Jennifer was far too lucky. She was nearly killed in her brave attempt to land safely. For Anna Lovecraft, Adam and Alice Kamprand it had been a fatal experience; A mere act of mother nature had taken three lives. As for the facility itself, the damage was actually minor. So it was that David, Kei, Claude, Marimeydia, and Justine Orel found themselves waiting for the news.

No one spoke; that is until a door opened, and a familiar face reared his head.

"Hey! Well I'm alright, but I gotta wear this stupid bandage for awhile...wait...what happened to the others? Are they alright?"

"You didn't see the crash!"

"No. I was in the hangar trying to get out of the damn rain. Then I slipped and fell and hit my head on the pavement. I was out. When I woke up my clothes were burning, my head's aching, and I had no idea what happened. So what did happen?"

"Van, Alice and Adam are dead."

"What! What the...what happened?"

"Lighting bolt hit the plane as it was landing. It must have hit the ground when you were out cold."

"Oh my god...how, what about my cousin? Is she alright?"

"She fine. But she's uh...she's a little off. Kinda freaked out there when she saw Anna. We thought she had a heart attack, but it was shock mostly. She calls her husband then comes to the hospital-from what David tells me- and sees her all messed up and...thunk!" said Claude.

"It's nice to see you have a sense of humor about this." David said sarcastically.

"It's not that. I'm interpreting events."

"Damn, what a disaster. What's gonna happen to Alex?" asked David.

"Who's Alex?" asked Van.

"Their son." replied Claude.

"Dear God."

Suddenly, there was rapid set of clanking heels that could be heard. The door to the waiting room burst open. It was Chloe. She nearly slipped on the cold, checkered floor. She was soaked from head to toe.

"What happened?" she asked sadly.

"Where the hell were you?"

"Hans and I were on a date when you called; I was on the other end of the island. How did this happen!" said Chloe looking in David's direction with a visage and sadness, confusion, and anger.

"Jennifer and Van were flying a pair of planes they were giving to us as a gift for what happened in the store in May. Behind them were her sister and brother in law in a Cessna. It was raining pretty hard. Van landed, and went inside the hangar, slipped and fell busting his head. A lighting bolt hit the Cessna and came down right in front of us. Anna was in the hangar with us. So I told everyone to get down...and we did. But, when the explosions stopped, we got up and...there she was, just totally shredded by debris. I just grabbed Kei and we got under a table. Everyone else was fine. I didn't see anything. It was dark and there was debris, rain and wind everywhere. It was so fast. I guess she hesitated or something. I can't blame her really. What do you do? I reacted perfectly given the situation. I guess I...I didn't forget about her. But, I thought she'd get down. I guess she did, or maybe she didn't do it fast enough. Or maybe I saw it first. I don't know." he said.

David looked at Chloe's mixed expression.

"Oh I know what you're thinking. _You chose to protect Kei over your own family._ Is that it? Is it? Well?"

"Shut up! I'm not! I never did! Why are saying that? Why are you angry at me?"

"I'm not."

"Then..."

Chloe now understood. Whether her brother realized it or not, he was emulating how she would act in these situations: lash out to take the anger off one's self. But in this case, what David was doing was not aberrant. He had every reason too. He probably thought it came down between his wife and his own blood and his choice killed Anna. But it was no choice really. It was a rapid, heat of the moment thing. The two were no longer at the crossroad. She finally understood. She couldn't hold herself back. Now David found himself reaching out for the sister he'd detested for so long. But there was no obligation, even because they were just family. Suddenly, there was a crash. It was clumsy Grimm, having rushed here as well and having slipped.

"What happened?"

But there was only silence marked with sadness as Chloe continued to cry uncontrollably.

Meanwhile...

It was one in the morning. Damien was getting worried. There was no word from Jennifer. _What must it feel like to have family die right in front of you?_ But Damien felt guilty. He felt sad but stoic. He was in a strange emotion. It was not apathy; he was concerned. But it was general death that was affecting him. Why, of course. Just a year ago, he'd seen people die everyday...

December 17, 2010

Zalus, Yuktobania

They were in a very bad spot. It was not a good place to die. They were in the cold snow in the middle of a random Yuke town in the coldest place in the world. They were in Zalus, a town right in the middle of the Rydling-Gublina region that was suffering the worst winter in 150 years. And it was here that Sgt. Damien Klein and his small team found themselves freezing and waiting on the enemy; they were also killing...and being killed.

They were of Bravo Company of the 117th Regiment of the 79th Airborne Division and they were smack in the middle of Yuktobania's massive counterstrike that had bogged the war down. Morale was at an all time low. The disastrous air battle above Cinigrad had cost Osea over 200 planes. In one well documented battle, a mere 30 Yuke aces blew 50 allied planes out the sky with a loss of only 3 planes. Now they were on the offensive and Osea was getting pushed back.

There were two men and one female in an small apartment complex. Next to Damien was Sgt. David Gordon. Gordon was a thin, tall man from the country. But like Damien, seem to speak as if he wasn't. Ever since females were allowed to fight in front line duties, many did not waste time joining up. There were many who were against it. Damien was not. Anyone, regardless of gender, that would volunteer to be here was worthy of respect in his opinion.

This woman was 20 year old PFC Miranda Allen. Just a day ago, her twin brother 20 year old, PFC Johnny Allen, had taken a bullet in the head. The city was very fluid. There was enemy activity everywhere. Both sides fought like rats; with the weather preventing air support, there was only protracted, static urban warfare; and urban warfare was not something the army was proficient at. No one dared show their face on the streets.

Damien, however, was focusing his attention on a wounded enemy soldier out in the street; one Miranda had wounded intentionally. She pointed her gun, a semiautomatic XM25, out at the street waiting to shoot anyone that dared show themselves. .She wanted to see if anyone would help him. Of course, this was an hour prior. The man's screams were driving Damien insane.

"For god's sake! Finish him off!" said Damien, obviously annoyed at the noise.

"No. This is an interesting sociological experiment." said Dave.

"More like psychopathic. This is for revenge isn't it?"retorted Damien.

"Yes. For them starting this war. For my brother. Do I have to spell it out? I just realized...I hate this place. I do. I don't want to be here anymore. I fucking hate this place. And if I to kill one more socialist pig to do it..."

"While I do agree with some of that and the fact this is a valid tactic. But, it's not gonna bring him back." said Damien.

"I don't care." she said with figurative poison dripping from her words.

"Now that's professionalism if I've ever seen it."

Damien simply grunted. Damien felt like a hypocrite. He did agree with Miranda. He hated this place too. He'd spent the last 17 days in the freezing cold because of the Yukes. He'd seen even more die here. _I'm going to lose my soul in this place no matter how much Jen prays for it, he thought._

Damien no longer believed in the mission. He'd seen the truth of all things. Politics fueled war and because of it he was here. This was no longer a "just cause". Both sides, mostly Osea, had committed unspeakable acts. Sure enough, Miranda found her targets. _Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. _Then there was silence.

_I'm never voting again._

Present Day...

Damien had played the role of obedient soldier, acting as if he believed in his country. But what happened in Dresdene and Sevaspol(in which he was a witness) was far beyond anything his superiors had told him would occur. Perhaps they were deluded by revenge and "righteous might". In reality, it was a campaign of political will; a will the regular people did not have. For only the second time in Osea's history, people rejected a war due topolitics. Although, his return home was not greeted by mobs of angry people. So what did this have to do with Adam and Alice's deaths? Everything. Alice was there in Yuktobania, facing the same dangers as the ground troops to report the stories of the war. Her death was going to send shockwaves through the 79th, where she was embedded. She would have only been 34 in four days. She was considered by some to be the greatest war correspondent ever. But not even the 39 days he spent in the freezing cold could hardened him that much. Death was terrible, buther's was downright tragic.

December 14, 2010

They decided to bury Anna Lovecraft on the island itself. It was nothing new to them. They'd moved all over Osea and they really had no set place where they lived. But it was totally backwards. To Michael and Catherine Lovecraft, the act of burying their youngest child was once an unthinkable act. Now it was a painful reality. For David and Kei, it was very bittersweet; here they were about to welcome a new addition to the family and had to say goodbye to another. For Chloe it was utterly devastating. She was not her usual self and had been this way for days. Grimm tried his best to comfort her but she was a broken woman.

Alice Kamprand was given a grand funeral with full military honors, a uncommon act for a non-combat type. It was a shame since Adam and Alice were buried in two different places; the 79th Airborne Division had its official cemetery at Sierra City. The accident did in fact send shockwaves through the 79th. Everyone was crushed. Then there was Alex, their son. Jennifer and Damien would assume legal guardianship of the nine year old. It did not really bother them, but someone else, a rather minor encounter, would get involved in Alex's life. And it was the last person they ever expected...

But no planes flew from the field. There was quiet and serenity underlined by grief. But the pain would go away. Anna would live on. But there was one death that still remained there, that being the death of Chopper. For David, there was still no truths to be told. There was still mystery about it. He remembered Kei's words: _I wonder who did it. I'd like to know. I wonder if he was proud of it. I wonder if he felt guilt. But for now, it's a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside of an enigma... _

But that was about to change. And it all began with a knock on the door...

To be continued...


	10. Truth Doesn't Make a Noise

Chapter 9: Truth Doesn't Make A Noise

Author's Note: The chapter title is also the name of a very underrated song by _The White Stripes_. This chapter also refers to events in chapters 5, 6, and 7.

December 29, 2010

Psel, Yuktobania

It was no better plan really. The new air force general had really turned things around. It was his idea to gather all the aces into one squadron and send them against the Oseans; they'd lost their trump cards and were paying a heavy price. No less than 250 Osean and allied planes had been lost in the seemingly hopeless campaign to take Cinigrad. The 11th Armored Division and 13th Airborne Division had been all but crushed and the cities they captured, Psel and Arzri, had been retaken. But it was not without a brutal fight; one credit to the Oseans was that a singe parachute regiment held out for 11 days in Arzri before being overrun. In the air, it was all but a rout of biblical proportions. For the first time, the Yukes enjoyed almost complete air supremacy. The combined ace squadron, known as Group Freya, had contained a mere 45 members. Although 4 had been lost in combat, their kill totals shot up dramatically over the past few weeks. But now it seemed they had only forced a stalemate. The crushing victory on paper was a tactical win for Yuktobania, but a strategic loss for both sides. The people would no longer support it. And nowhere was this more apparent than in Group Freya.

In command of Group Freya were the Forza Paxiae or "Great Four". Each member controlled a jasten or "party" containing 8 members. One of the leaders of Group Freya was the cunning Major Quara Quaramine. His kill count was actually understated, it was around 32. He lived in both Osea and Yuktobania as a military advisor to Osea's experimental training programs. But now, he was in a delicate position. However, it was interesting that the situation suddenly didn't matter. He wanted to belive the war had a cause, but it there was none really. The soldiers, the people itself, had become pawns in a deadly political game; a political game that was killing people everyday. Even members of Group Freya had been victims of this. Of the 45 members only 38 remained. While not a huge loss in numbers, they were amongst the most skilled and brave pilots Yuktobania had. Combat stress, fatigue, and illness were beginning to plague the squadron. Now only 26 were combat ready.

Quaramine's _Jasten_ only had 2 other members. They were doing their usual CAP over the area of Psel. The three planes traveled in a triangle formation. The first was his old friend, 27(and soon to be 28) year old Major Valentin Horan in an Su-35. The next was a former Cruik defense squadron pilot, 26-year-old Captain Miko Vaati, who was the wife of top-scoring ace Major Alexei Vaati. He was battling the flu, a common illness for pilots this time of year. She flew in her weathered JAS-39C which had seen constant battle since early December. Horan had a commanding lead on the kills board with 40 kills. Of course, there was also his other kills from other conflicts; added to the forty, his actual kill count was 71. Vaati had only managed 17. Despite whatever skill they had, the will to use it just wasn't there.

"0-1-0, no visual." said

"Roger that. I am so tired right now. Why we don't we just make something up to impress the brass so we can get some sleep." said Quara.

"I'd like to do that. But you know how anal-retentive the Colonel can be." replied Horan.

"Well, we're getting to the edge. Funny, they call it _Falcon Alley_," said Quaramine in reference to the large amount of F-16s that would be in the area, " but I don't see anything."

"So let's call it a day. They'll be there tomorrow." said Vaati.

"Wait...I got something. 0-9-0. 3...they're turning in!" said Quaramine.

"Roger, I see them. Business as usual." said Horan.

It was so viciously mechanical of the trio; they acted any ace pilot would. _React instantly. Come out of the sun. Get close. Kill on the first pass. _Alexei had a nickname for Group Freya: _Certified Airborne Assassins_. The Oseans didn't stand a chance. They were up against very skilled professionals with superior tactics and training. They did not even react towards the screams they heard over the radio as the enemy went down one by one. That would have to wait.

Quara soon locked on to the final enemy and fired. But this enemy was a little better than the others. He evaded and turned back in; then he broke off and descended rapidly. But there was no outrunning his superior F-15. It was a hopeless cause. Quara never liked to play games with his enemies. As soon as he could fire he did. Which he did. The missile streamed forward as the pilot climbed into some strange evasive maneuver. But there was no escape from the Sidewinder missile as it did a strange turn and destroyed the hapless F-16.

When the carnage ended, they went back to regular people...not aerial killers.

"Base One, this Mujonder Gold reporting contact and successful engagement with enemy. Preparing to RTB."

"This is Base One...wait a minute...what the hell...what! Well...", the voice over the radio said.

"Base One, this Kadera Silver. What's going on?"

There was a long pause.

"Jasten Four, we've received word to halt all combat operations."

Quaramine's heart stopped.

"Say again? Halt all combat operations!" Horan said.

"That is correct. All aircraft are to cease offensive operations at this time and return to base. The war's over." the voice said.

There was a long pause.

"What? It's...over. The war's over?" Horan stuttered out.

Horan let out a incredibly hearty laugh. "The war is _over_!"

"Yes! Time...for the roll of victory!" said Quaramine.

All three aircraft rolled at the same time at different altitudes. When they returned, Miko let out her own exclamation of joy.

"We won! Their pulling out!" said Vaati.

"We won? We didn't win anything! It's probably a cease-fire, but I don't care. We're alive. We can go home to our homes and families...or what's left of them." Horan said as he trailed off bitterly.

"I suppose." said Quaramine.

_Would have been too much to have the cease-fire come through before we shot those damn guys down?_!

It wouldn't be till later that the full truth would be revealed to Group Freya. But that was enough for them. They were alive and mentally stable and soon they would going home. The war on the front lines had ended, but the war to restore home was about to begin. Still, there would be many lingering doubts. For Quaramine, it was November City. It was the man he never got to meet. Then, Alvin C. Davenport was just another number on the kills board. But now...his name meant much more. But it was a secret that he kept deep inside. A secret only Valentin knew.

December 14, 2011

Mallora Island

So it was almost a year since that event that Quaramine found himself admitting the truth. He'd hidden from David and Kei, from Grimm, his own wife, his children, and his comrades. With each word the pain passed from him. But he was facing the people who'd friend he'd killed. Despite the hard feelings of the war having passed away, he wondered if they were going to kill _him_. Their looks were of confusion. He wondered if there was deep desire for revenge in them. Did they carry the anger of the families of the 31 other pilots he killed? Or the 298 kills the three squadrons of Freya had amassed in a short 4 months of war? It was about to be found out.

"All this time," David began, "it was _you_?"

Quara sat up in his chair. He felt like he was at an intervention. David and Kei were giving him looks of a mixture of anger, confusion, sympathy, and shock.

"Yes. I was there. We were "volunteered" by our CO for that mission. We were added on at the last possible minute. They weren't taking any chances. They actually said someone else did it. A Valentin Horan. I mentioned him before."

"Oh yes, I remember you talking about him." said David.

" I didn't want to be there. None of us did. We didn't know they were using bombers! We were attached like 5 hours before the mission. We didn't know! We went in there with almost no intel, almost nothing. All I was told to do was engage the enemy. So I did. I didn't know who he was. At the time, I didn't care! I was glad to get out of there alive. I was lucky. There is no such thing as honor in the air. I had to play dirty to survive. But then again, I couldn't deal with the pressure. I hated the war. I hated my government. I hated everything. When we left it hit me. Horan called me a _magnificent bastard_. Magnificent. Such garbage. I don't think even he believed it. He was even more ambivalent about it than I was."

"So you let him take the credit because you couldn't handle the responsibility and the weight of all of it?" asked Kei.

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. Horan was already a celebrity. They made a propaganda tool out of his wife. Poor woman. In early November, they bombed the hell out of civilian towns in Western Yuktobania. This was to uproot our forces there. The last thing the Osean military wanted is urban combat. At the time, there was no military presence there. But the command justified it as rooting out enemy strongholds. The Marines shelled the city of Sevaspol for 10 hours. It was the largest city there. 3,000 people died and about 5,000, 6,000 maybe, were wounded. It was the most heavily fought for city in Yuktobania as it traded hands between us and them. Guess where Horan lived. His wife's feet were blown off. They did a interview, a damn interview, with this woman! The nerve of those people! I was so enraged. I outraged at the audacity of both countries. But I was trapped. In order to survive, I had to kill. It was sad really. I had to slay my way back to _my_ family. He was never the same. He's still being affected by that incident. The medals are fine, but the way the economy is over there, it doesn't pay for anything. It was going to cost Valentin over 100,000 to get his wife prosthetics. But he can't afford that, so's shuffling around in a wheel chair. All this stuff, November City, this. that, and everything else...I've been taking medication for it. Back in the Motherland, they say I have a bit of depression and post-traumatic stress. That's...why I'm here."

There was a silence for some time.

"Look, I...actually appreciate this. You've finally helped us solve the puzzle."

"You have no idea what combat can do to a person." said Quara in a dry voice.

"What? That's..." Kei started to protest.

"I know you've been through much. But you don't really have a true idea. You don't. You weren't in combat for 4 months straight. Being in a war your people would not forgive. Being hated by your own people. Seeing people die everyday. I mean day after day. Two or three sorties per day. Everywhere you look, there was enemy. You were killing everyday. You only went up a few times a week or a month even." said Quara.

"What do you mean. I thought you guys did pretty good." said David in confusion.

"That was just at Bougainville. After the November City fiasco, we were called to Cinigrad. After Cruik fell, there were just endless air battles over the skies of the capitol. Endless. They kept coming and we had to go stop them. It was killing field out there. People ran for bomb shelters, not from bombs, but from the falling planes! That was how bad it was. You were fortunate. Your skill wouldn't have saved you really. We lost three Belkan war veterans, and we splashed the 3 top scoring allied aces. It was insanity up there. Just furballs everywhere. Finally, they gave up on the air attacks on the capitol after a week and a half. Then it was just a battle of attrition for some 3 weeks. Believe me, there was no person gladder the war was over other than us."

"No, I think I can disagree on that point." said David.

David and Kei looked at each other. _Apparently, he never flew through 60 miles of tunnel and destroyed a falling satellite._

Quara laughed. "I can imagine!" he said.

It was no secret the Yukes knew something about the "Ghosts of Razgriz". They'd encountered them a few times. The tales passed through every squadron.

"I'm sorry man. I really am. It was just a difficult situation. We really shouldn't have been there. The others though were extremely enthusiastic about the mission. Most of them could care or less about the bombers or damage to the cities. And you know, it's funny how everyone focuses on the stadium rather than all the other damage that resulted as a result of it. The only thing I wish I knew was who he was _really. _I know he was once an Alvin Davenport. I know this. But who was he really? What was he like?" asked Quara.

"Well...he was a pretty interesting guy. He was a bit of a hard drinking guy, he was very loud-mouthed at times, loved joking around on the radio, just...he fit every stereotype of the maverick pilot. Yet we all loved him. But..." said David, trailing off sadly.

"But what?"

"I never really considered him a friend until he died."

"What!" said Kei in shock. That was not was she expected to hear.

"I had a lot of other friends...and most of them are dead. Chopper, that's what we called him, was a guy I had a love/hate relationship, even when were in fight training. I never called him a friend. But when he was gone...I always realized he was a friend. He was already there, even though I kept pushing him away. I mean, we had nothing in common. Nothing at all. I even lied to him saying that I liked that favorite song of his. I hated it. It was a horrible song, but...I never looked down on him for it. He had his interests; I had mine. He was just...there. He'd never abandon anyone. He'd never push them away. He was always there when and when you didn't need him." said David, with a smile on his face.

"Really? I thought he was a pretty extraordinary guy. He fits the mold of a lot of old friends. In fact, he kinda reminds me of the way Volodga was." said Quara.

"Who was he?" asked Kei.

"He was one of the group commanders. All the ace pilots were grouped together in one squadron, the 23rd Fighter Group...codename: Freya. Brig. General Volodga was an old, grizzled ace pilot from the early nineties, even before the Belkan War. He was pretty rough guy. But we all loved him because he was so practical, pragmatic, and rebellious. He always stood up for his men and women. We called him the _Mastiff_, or _Black Dog_." he said.

_Kinda like someone else I know, Kei thought. _

"I commanded a _jasten_, or hunting party, that would go out and shoot down enemy aircraft. There were several of these, and General Volodga ran the whole thing...and he was _good_. I loved the fact that you can always learn something new from him as he would learn something new as well. But...he got killed; not in battle, but a landing accident. He flew a modernized Mig-27. The Migs always have a difficult time landing. He crashed after a particularly rough battle. It was later learned that his landing gear was damaged in the fight." he said. He then looked off and away from the couple.

"I suppose there wasn't much difference between the two countries, in the air at least." said Kei.

"Yeah. We had our group of fascinating people, some were total nutcases, but..."

The silent air of truth filled the room. The hostile air faded away and the three chatted away into the night. But something else was about to happen, that was going to change everything.

"Did he really do that?" asked David.

"I have to admit, that was real bold of Alexei. Saying if he became an ace he'd run down his block naked. I never laughed so hard in my life. Even the police were laughing so much they were almost crying." said Quara doubled over on the couch.

All three were laughing. Kei suddenly stopped laughing though. There was something wrong, and David didn't realize it at first. Kei started breathing harder; she was shaking. She clasped her extended belly. Something was _very_ wrong.

"So, what are you going to name the baby?" he asked.

Kei was looking away. She closed her eyes and seemed to grimace at something. Meanwhile, David was still talking to Quara face to face.

"Well Kei's gonna let me do it. That's because we were talking about naming the kid after one of my family members. But Kei doesn't really have a family to speak of-Kei...are you alright?"

"You look kinda ill." said Quara.

_Thank you Captain Obvious, thought Kei._

"The baby...it's...it's..." She stammered out. She was shaking even more. Then there was a scream of pain.

"No way! No freaking way! Come on we'll get you to the hospital! Don't just stand there! Help me!" said a panicked David.

This was_ not_ normal; something terrible was going on. She was only at six months. For the first time in her life Kei truly knew the cold, deathly emotion of fear. It was a fear that David shared, but in Kei's case it was sheer terror. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. It was the fear that her dream of her child having what she did not have, that is a happy childhood, was about to die before it had a chance to live.

To be continued...


	11. Catherine Anna: Part I

Chapter 10: Catherine Anna(Part I)

_The previous days had not been kind to the people of the island. However, out of the shadow of death and pain comes renewal and second chances. The main characters of the play continue to only play a minor in something larger. And it is something that no one, not even those that are not mentioned do not know. Nor will they ever will. Rather, these people only realize their lives fulfilled through their small role in the overall production. For some it is a bittersweet experience, but the worst had already passed and the time for joy had arrived. For others, it is a moment of serendipity that crosses their path and they inadvertently find it. For the rest, it is a lifetime of things they are owed. For a very nervous young man that will happen this very day...but not entirely for him. For the woman is rather a long overdue dream that came true; it was a long enough wait, but not too late..._

February 14, 2012

A hospital on Mallora Island

_She_ shouldn't have lived, and it was a miracle _she _did. He never expected this to happen. He'd thought it was a nice dream to have someday; but he did not expect that day to come so soon. And _she _was here now; someone that he knew would look up to him and listen to him(hopefully), and most importantly of all...love him.

_She_ was still somewhat weak and it would be yet another several days before _she _could be taken home. This was the daughter of iconic pair that was at one time went by the nicknames of Blaze and Edge: Catherine Anna Lovecraft. And they stand front the looking glass of the place several other little angels lay.

But there was something familiar about this...

December 12, 2011

It was a rather strange scenario. It was a bit unexpected of Damien to ask both David and Kei to watch their kid, Evangeline, while the both of them prepared to return to the mainland. It was only a day after both families said their farewells to their loved ones in that freak accident on the second. But today was not one of sadness, it was something to be proud of.

"Wow. She's a beauty isn't she?"

"She has like these...marble like eyes."

"Marbles! They do not look like marbles!" Kei said while

"Hey! I'm an honest man and a master of observation! What did you expect?"

"I suppose."

_But there a subsequent memory in the mind of David. He once watched Kei hold a child that wasn't even hers' and yet look at it with the eyes of a true mother. He watched her dream partially fulfilled right in front of him._ _One that had plenty of weight for both. He remembered her words. She only mentioned them before in a rather vague tone. But it was enough to stun David out of any former ideas about her. She hardly talked about her past at all, and yet despite this mundane action, it had everything to do with the truth Kei told him the same day she also told him she was carrying their own child. All the pieces of the puzzle in a single night came together._

_**What dreams?**_

_**Dreams I've had for a long time. But it was more than a dream. It was a wish. A hope for a better tomorrow. I've spent so long wanting this to happen.**_

_**I see. It's family isn't it? I never realized how deep it went for you.**_

_**Well...lack thereof.**_

_**You told me before that your parents abandoned you like trash. And that was why you wanted to have a family, so that kid doesn't go through what you went through.**_

_**You speak as if you already know.**_

_**I am good at assuming what I don't know. But I lack the arrogance to say I do. And you told me you didn't want to go into the details, and I cut myself off. I respected your wish, and I still will...if that is what YOU wish.**_

_**No...I'm like Quara. I've held too many secrets for far too long. Some part of me is obligated to tell you the truth.**_

_**No you're not. If you don't want to, just don't. It's not healthy, but I can't force you. I won't.**_

_**It hasn't been healthy. What happened to me affected every aspect of my life, my personality. Perhaps you love me because of that. What I became. So, here goes.**_

_It is a white hot rage that overtakes her for a mere minute. David remembered it. He could feel it himself. It is rage not seen or felt since the war. It is the same he felt at Sand Island, when she dropped Hamilton with a well placed haymaker. It is the same he felt at Chloe's first venomous impression of her. Now she talked of her mother, with every point of poison in her voice._

_What he heard was shocking. He heard about her cruel nature, about her erratic, flaunting, and even promiscuous behavior, and even more shocking, about how she blamed an innocent child for death of a father she never even met. But it was the book that most stood out. It was the only thing she had as a child that was of any worth or significance. That purple book...that book he simply glanced at...that book he called Genette several caustic words for reading it, out of a lack of respect; the action itself was tantamount to assuming she was dead._

_Her tirade was finished with Kei literally slamming her fist into the table. For the first time, he'd seen all the emotions come out at once. David tried to comprehend. It was all anathema to him. He could never of lived in his own family, if his parents had treated him anywhere close to how Kei's mother treated her. There were things in those memories that cause David to shudder and become appalled. What kind of life was this? No one deserved that fate. But there was far more to the story..._

_**Damn...that's...dear God. That is...I had no idea.**_

_Invisible tears formed on his face. He would not succumb to his own sadness at this appalling tale._

_**Well, there's far more. So she leaves me on the side of the road in the cold and the rain.** **I was never more alone in my life. Then, "he" came. This man, picked me up hours later-or at least it felt like hours.** **It was March 1995.**_

_The Belkan War._

_**I stayed with him for a mere two weeks. His family was nice. They just fell in love with me; or rather, they just really liked me.** **But the war happened, and he had to go. I begged him not to go, literally I was on my knees begging; he couldn't change what he had to do...and I never saw him again.**_

_He still feels the tears she shed. They were like acid burning at his own brain as he tried to keep himself from crying. Now he understood.War took one of the only people that cared for her. It was perfect sense. It all came full circle. But the book she had remained. The book she constantly worked on. The one she said was ruined by the rain. The words she memorized, because those words of fantasy were all she had left. Then there were the words. The striking words that summed up everything.The minor details were no longer important. The fact she went from foster home to foster home, her love of flying, etc; it no longer mattered. What mattered was that sentence._

_**I told myself if I ever finished this thing, and if I had my own kid, they'd know the story too.**_

February 14, 2012

Reality hit David once again. He looked at a very lucky child and looked into the eyes of one half of a lucky couple. It was a dream come true. They had risked their lives countless times, saved each other's lives****countless times, had done many things they had regretted, but now...it was all worth it. It was their true reward for so many trials and ordeals. It was not the solitude of the island, not their anonymity****on the mainland, not their friends that visited, not the new friends they made...it was Catherine Anna herself. She was the representation of all their pain and love put into a single being. It melded into one whole, where the fears and hopes were now placed. But it was nothing different. They'd spent their lives trying to live for others; now it was their own. But the legacy of Catherine Anna did not only extend to those who were once the Razgriz...

On a distant road far away from the island, another life would be touched by the love of a selfless couple; ones like David and Kei, had spent their lives living for other people. But in this case, it was not their own extension of themselves. It the extension of another selfless couple that were no doubt somewhere in Heaven smiling down upon one person that only over a year ago was considered an enemy.

To be continued...


	12. Catherine Anna: Part II

Chapter 11: Catherine Anna(Part II)

Author's Note: Well this is it. I apologize if it seem too short, but I wanted to end this in a unique way. I hope you've enjoyed my work.

_The story of the island's characters seemed to intertwine even as they rarely met. The story thus ends and begins with period of long peace and reconciliation. It was already decided. There are so many unanswered questions that do not need answering. It was a rather interesting act of serendipity. So it was that one man, once so scorned by country of where he lived, went to accomplish the rather menial task of collecting a friend from the airport. "She" was one he spoke of and worried about constantly during and after the war. Yet both had a rather unusual encounter. She had been delivered to the wrong city to some mechanical gremlins, something "he" could relate to. So "she" was lost, trying to find her way through a city she knew little about to meet "him". But in that same city, lived a young couple; one half of which was still grieving for the loss of a sister. She had taken in her son, who was sad, withdrawn and angry. What could be expected from a kid who had no experience with death tragedy? As both the young man and woman tried their best to raise their own child and this kid, it was extremely difficult. For the man who used all his masculinity and compassion to appeal to the child's heart, he could not bring the child out of his shell. So the child ran away. For days they searched until one day several days later that child appeared on their doorstep; it was the same day another child was born early on a distant island could be welcomed into their parent's home. "She" had encountered him and "she" wanted the child. She fell in love with the child, as more mechanical gremlins in her car forced them to walk for many miles. It was difficult for the couple, who was not one to simply throw away a child's existence. But it was the man who spent 2 months killing soldiers from the land "she" was from in 2010 who learned the story and child nudged his opinion along. It was a rather difficult decision, but hearing that sad story soften the young couple. Soon, all of the red tape would be cleared up, and a broken family in another country would be whole again. So for the troubled Yuke pilot with many secrets, the arousing altruist, and the cunning soldier and motorcycle afficionado, the story had come to a happy ending. But they were all away...away from the momentous celebration that was about to occur that same day. A little child named after a young man's family, one living and one dead, was finally coming home..._

February 21, 2012

Mallora Island

"Okay! Here they come! Hide!" someone said.

The house was very small so it was hard to hide all the friends and family that had come out to welcome a baby that did not just belong to David and Kei...but to all of them. Their parents prepared to welcome the fifth generation of the Lovecraft family. It seemed strangely placed. It wasn't too long ago that three people died here not 150 yards away in December 2011. It had been a long and windy road for everyone over days, months, years, and in some cases many years.

Meanwhile, an oblivious couple walked into the "driveway" which was merely a patch of dirt. Kei held Catherine in her arms simply looking at her so much that she nearly walked right into a tree. Catherine was a beady brown-eyed girl that shared her mother's looks. David had joked once that his child eyes were brown marbles. Of course, there was a bit of playful discontent from Kei. They had not been the "Razgriz" for many, many months. There was no need for them now. What really drove their enthusiasm was the fact was their offspring would not have to endure what they, Grimm, Chopper, Snow, Damien, Quara, Claude, Mari, and Captain Bartlett had to experience...the dark side of humanity that was war. At least they hoped... _hope springs eternal._ Or so at least Kei thought. David was as practical as he was skeptical. Nothing was eternal, but he kept his doubts to himself.

"Look at it. It's your new home. Don't you like it?" David said while turning to face his daughter and pointing at their quaint house.

"She doesn't understand you." Kei said.

"Hey, she gets it. She just can't...acknowledge it just yet." said David.

_Okay, keep quiet._

_Turn that cell phone off, you idiot!_

"What the was...I get it."

"What?"

"They think they fooled us. I wonder who's phone that was?"

"Your ears never lie. Let's just act surpised."

"Funny. You said I had better eyes than ears."

"No. I thought your eyes were pretty. You said _my _eyes were good. But then again..."

Kei simply moved towards him and her lips brushed his own again. It was the cure for her husband's tendency to ramble on and on about nothing. It was the same thing she did after the SOLG went down in flames. He went on and on about what the future was gonna bring and what he wanted to do and such and such. As the two enjoyed their momentary but pleasent distraction...

_Aw, isn't that cute?_

_You never did strike me as the touchy guy, Jack._

_Hey, I always knew those two would end up so...hugged up with each other._

_Okay you two, get a room. Let's go._

_Well it's their house, man._

_No! I mean, your daughter and Grimm in the corner over there_!

_Van, what the hell are you talking about...oh my god._

_Would you two be quiet!_

_Why are we here? Aren't the ladies supposed to give the baby shower?_

_We're breaking down barriers man! This kid belongs to all of us._

_What the...hell are you talking about? _

_Here they come!_

It was one of those moments where a forced facade was necessary. There was, lying in the "not so surprise scenario",pretty much every friend and family member of the pair. Never was there so much attention focused on a tiny female life. She was far from being a newborn since she was born almost 3 months early. There was really no explanation as to why it happened; then again, in David's view, _90 percent of doctors don't know a damn thing._

"Wow, she looks just like you. So'd you ever find out who the father was?" asked Claude joking.

Everyone froze and most gave Claude a few hateful looks. David nearly laughed himself. The others were not used to Claude's black humor.

"What? I was just kidding!"

"I know you wanted to be a comedian, but for our sakes stick to your day job."

"You people are too uptight."

_The joking and playing continued for what seemed like forever. The story was no longer about the people in the room, but the child in their arms._

_But now it is time to end the story and begin the new one. Of course, this story never was about the people in the room. The writings are mine, and mine alone. It is my story. The story of me. The story of my birth. The names are different, but they are real. They exsisted. I thank my family for being so honest. They were more open than I thought on a level even more so than my brothers. I'm only thinking of the events as I write them. It's been so long since the story has been told. Therefore it up to me to tell it._

_It was interesting that first meeting. I never remembered looking into that man's eyes when he was only a mere two years old. The man that reads the story now. The young couple was us. The others were the children of my brother's friend and my own aunt. My grandparents were the old people on that hill._

October 27, 2036

Somewhere on Mallora Island

There was only us. My writing in his hands. He looks back and forth at me and the story. He's quite an attractive man. I write even as he reads my own hand's work.

"Wow," he says, "That's a fascinating story. I had no idea your parent's were..."

"So famous? Infamous?" I say with a twinkle in my eye, "I felt the need to lay myself bare."

I wonder what he thinks, even now...

_**It was strange being in a family of fighter pilots, much less a quartet of complete oddballs. I saw her all the time as a child. Who knew she'd be more than simply a childhood friend? Well, it wasn't so unexpected. Even Catherine tells me her parents told her they seemed to be made for each other. They were completely honest with her. Even my father wouldn't go into those details of what happened to him in Verusa. But it was strange. Everything was. Mr. Piccaro teaching me how to play the violin. My own fiancee being a fourth generation fighter pilot...**_

_**But then as I look into her glassy brown eyes, there is something there I cannot see. For this is not mere romantic get together. This is a farewell. Ironic that the child of a man who she tells me hates war so much is preparing to leave for it. But then there was the even more bizzare thing. Behind those green eyes lie an anticipation unlike anything I can only see, as I only know it. I, Van Orel II, know the truth. I am looking at a woman who's the direct opposite of her parents. **_

_**The names roll of her tongue, Rickenbacker, Immelmann, Bolcke, Johnson, Gabreski, Cunningham, Richie, endless number of aces. The battles she knows and studies constantly. She can tell you about anything war related.**_

_**She is in love with two things, one intangible and one tangible. She loves me...and war. The question in my greatest doubts was which one she loves more...**_

The End...or is it?


End file.
